Mark Selby withstands Ryan Day charge to set up clash with Shaun Murphy in semi-finals of Tour Championship
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 30/03/2023 at 21:39 GMT
Big names such as Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and defending champion Neil Robertson are absent from the Tour Championship, but one of the stars of the sport in the shape of four-time world champion Mark Selby is in the mix and he took out Ryan Day 10-7 at the Bonus Arena in Hull. Day made a maximum 147 break in the third frame and threatened a comeback in the evening.
'That's what it means to him' - Ding beats Thepchaiya to win Six Red World Championship
Mark Selby fended off a fightback from Ryan Day to book his place in the semi-finals of the Tour Championship with a 10-7 win over Ryan Day.
Selby broke the back of the match when taking a 6-2 lead in the afternoon session in Hull and won the first two frames of the evening to leave Day with a mountain to climb.
Day won three frames in a row either side of the mid-session interval and looked on course to make it four on the spin only to foul when in the balls, and Selby stepped in to take his chance.
Day refused to wilt and won two on the spin with a fine passage of play, but Selby took the chance he was presented with in the 17th to close out the match and set up a meeting with Shaun Murphy.
His defeated opponent will now have to steel himself for qualifying for the World Championship as defeat dashed his hopes of securing an automatic spot in the main draw.
Selby got in early and found the form that put him in such a commanding position. He picked off the loose reds with no fuss before splitting the remaining cluster and knocking a long red into the green pocket to set up a total clearance of 131, his second ton of the match, which extended his lead to five frames.
Day’s window of opportunity was closing, and that gap narrowed again when he passed up a chance in the 10th and Selby punished him with a telling break of 67.
The rot was stopped by Day in the 11th, as a break of 67 ensured the match would go into the second session of the evening.
A big cheer greeted Day taking the 11th, and it was louder still when he mopped up the colours in steely fashion to take the 12th and cut the gap to four frames at the interval.
The Day charge continued after the interval as he closed out the 13th frame in rapid fashion with a break of 75 to cut the gap to three. He was last within three frames of Selby at 5-2.
Momentum shifts frequently in long matches, and Day had it with him as he crafted a chance via a safety exchange. With reds split he looked well set but he ran slightly out of position and in attempting to pinch a bit of the pocket, he potted the pink on the thick side and screwed the white back into the left middle.
With Day leading by 31 points, it was not an easy table for Selby but he crafted a break of 43 and fashioned a second chance to stop his rival’s charge and moved within one frame of victory.
Day roared back with a century to back up his 147 from the afternoon to take the 15th frame and keep his hopes alive, and the Welshman kept finding the middle of the pockets in the following frame as he cut the gap to two.
When Day took the 16th, he had scored 261 unanswered points and Selby was firmly on the ropes.
But a poor safety handed Selby an easy starter in the 17th and he showed the nerve and class of a champion to close out victory with a superb 77.
Day trails despite making maximum 147
Ryan Day wowed the crowd with a maximum break, but he faces a mountain to climb to reach the semi-finals of the Tour Championship as Mark Selby took a grip of their match.
The brilliance of the 147 aside, Day was largely out of sorts and Selby seized on errors from his opponent to take charge.
Selby will return to the Bonus Arena on Thursday evening with a 6-2 lead in the race to 10.
Shaun Murphy will be an interested spectator as he faces the winner in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Day set out his stall to be aggressive by taking on a tough red in the opening frame. Selby got in on the back of Day’s miss and made 45, but broke down when failing to split the pack off the green.
Day had a chance to counter but missed a blue off its spot and Selby punished him with a 77, thrilling the crowd with a party piece off four cushions to pot the final black.
Selby looked razor sharp in the opener, but along with playing well it helps when fortune is on your side. Selby had it at the start of the second as he missed a long red by some distance, so much so that it flicked off another ball and into the pocket. He could only make 23 before running out of position.
As expected, Selby’s safety was exemplary and it crafted him further chances and enabled him to double his lead with another run of 77.
Day got a foothold when taking the third, and did it in style with a maximum 147 - the third of his career. After being kept largely cold for two frames, Day produced a series of pots out of the top drawer.
The fourth was the first scrappy frame of the match and it contained a collector’s item: the sight of Selby failing to escape from a snooker. When his miss left Day with a shot at the yellow it looked set to go the Welshman’s way but he failed to get on the blue and following a protracted battle, Selby knocked it into the green pocket to take a lead into the interval.
The Tour Championship is prestigious in its own right, but Day arrived in Hull knowing victory would guarantee his place in the World Championship as one of the top 16. With pressure on, he hit back to take a bitty fifth frame to get within one of Selby once again.
Selby arrived at the Tour Championship as the form player after his win at the WST Classic. Confidence is high with the four-time world champion and a break of 75 restored his two-frame advantage.
The advantage was stretched to three when Selby took the seventh with a classy 132 to ensure he would take a lead into the evening session.
The advantage was extended to four frames, but Selby had to do it the hard way after passing up a golden chance to kill it off in quick time.
He had to survive a test of his escapology skills as Day chased a snooker on the colours, but the man from Leicester held his nerve and closed it out when the chance came his way.
Selby and Day will return for the evening session, with the former well placed to set up a meeting with Murphy.
- - -
Stream the 2023 Snooker World Championship live on Eurosport and discovery+
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement