Defending champion Anthony McGill of Scotland was at his fluent best as he outplayed China’s Zhang Anda 4-0 to enter the semifinals of the fourth Indian Open world-ranking snooker tournament here on Friday. In another quarterfinal, Xu Si of China, a former World under-21 snooker champion, notched up a similar win over England’s David Gilbert.
Though much was expected from Zhang, it was apparent that he was not equal to the occasion and his fancied opponent never really gave him any chance.
McGill, who won the event in Hyderabad last year, was spot on with his potting, showing his class in building the crucial breaks. It was obvious that Zhang struggled a bit with his potting, especially the long reds close to the cushion.
“I was pleased with my game. My safety play was good. I don’t think Zhang, who is a tremendous player, never really got too many chances,” said the Scot.
Earlier in the morning, three former World champions — World No. 5 Shaun Murphy, World No. 9 Stuart Bingham and Ken Doherty — crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals.
In another upset, Gilbert shocked teammate and World No. 11 Mark Allen.
The results:
Quarterfinals: Xu Si (Chn) bt David Gilbert (Eng) 82(72)-0, 66-15, 69 (52)-16, 82(60)-9; Anthony McGill (Sco) bt Zhang Anda (Chn) 71(57)-11, 65-28, 70(62)-0, 120(74)-0.
Pre-quarterfinals: Anthony McGill bt Hossein Vafaei (Irn) 89-0, 16-73(70), 70(54)-7, 95(55)-1, 79-4; Mark King (Eng) bt Stuart Bingham (Eng) 5-98(57), 56-72(51), 79-0, 79(72)-14, 71(50)-32, 85(84)-0, 65-63; Zhang Anda bt Ken Doherty (Ire) 79-58, 19-68(51), 82(67)-27, 85(85)-20, 37-69, 32-79, 70(54)-13; Xu Si bt Ricky Walden (Eng) 37-74 (60), 85-33, 22-59, 84(78)-10, 64-37, 4-80, 84(53)-34; John Higgins (Sco) bt Michael Holt (Eng) 0-74(56), 73 (57)-38, 55-52, 94 (92)-13, 62-58; David Gilbert bt Mark Allen (Eng) 80-17, 42-77, 92(61)-1, 98(69)-0, 125 (102)-0; Elliot Slessor (Eng) bt Shaun Murphy (Eng) 72-57, 30-82, 77(77)-17, 88(67)-22, 78-0; Liam Highfield (Eng) bt Akani Songsermsawad (Tha) 72(61)-21, 61-52, 0-78(52), 0-80(80), 80-67(56), 50-41 .
