World Snooker Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan builds four-frame lead over Ryan Day after second session
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Updated 28/04/2024 at 21:19 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan took a stranglehold on his second-round clash with Ryan Day at the World Snooker Championship. O'Sullivan held a 5-3 lead going into the second session, and he extended that advantage to 10-6. The world No. 1 was not at his best, but put himself in a strong position to book his place in the quarter-finals when the match concludes on Monday.
O'Sullivan makes sparkling break to start second session against Day
Ronnie O’Sullivan took a firm grip on his last-16 clash with Ryan Day at the World Championship.
O’Sullivan secured a 5-3 advantage after the first session on Sunday morning, and returned later in the day to double his lead to 10-6 in the race to 13.
The opening two frames of the evening were shared, with O’Sullivan looking a little frustrated with his game.
The Rocket found form midway through the session to reel off four frames on the spin, but Day took the final two of the evening to keep his hopes alive.
The opening frame of the session started in scrappy fashion and Day passed up a couple of excellent chances to make early inroads.
After Day missed a tough yellow, O’Sullivan inherited a difficult table but he picked it apart superbly with a break of 82 to open up a three-frame lead.
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O'Sullivan makes sparkling break to start second session against Day
Despite holding a three-frame advantage, O’Sullivan did not look happy with his game and a couple of poor misses allowed Day to take the 10th.
After missing a relatively simple red in the 11th frame, O’Sullivan’s play was described by Neal Foulds in the Eurosport commentary box as “a bit scruffy.”
When he missed a black off its spot later in the frame, O’Sullivan returned to his chair with his pot success having dipped below 90%.
Day had a faltering O’Sullivan in his sights, but he failed to pull the trigger in the 11th as he missed a red with the rest and the world No. 1 crafted a break of 65 to open up a three-frame lead once again.
In the blink of an eye, O’Sullivan went from a car in the wrong gear spluttering along the road to cruising down the motorway as he pounced on an error from Day to pick off a break of 89 to go into the mid-session interval with a four-frame lead.
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O'Sullivan makes superb break to open up four-frame lead
O’Sullivan built a stellar career on the back of brilliant potting and break-building class.
Patience and application are facets he has added to his game, and they were on show in the 13th.
Time after time he played a superb safety and the pressure eventually told on Day who caught a red when attempting to get back to baulk.
It looked like the second half of the 13th was being played on a sloping table, as reds were clustered towards the bottom left. Somehow, O’Sullivan solved the puzzle and a break of 56 was enough to extend the lead to five frames.
Confidence seemed to build in the O’Sullivan game, and he knocked in a superb red at the start of the 14th frame.
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'Beautifully played' - O'Sullivan drills in long red against Day
There were concerns with his tip during the break as he twice pulled out sandpaper from his pocket for running repairs, but it did not stop his progress as a run of 96 piled more misery on his opponent.
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O’Sullivan stops to do repairs on his tip mid-break against Day
Day looked like a rabbit in headlights, but he emerged from his chair to stop the rot in the 15th with a break of 72.
O’Sullivan did not look happy with his tip and left the table in the 16th with a face like thunder after missing a red when in the balls.
Day punished the error to take the final frame of the session and keep the match alive at 10-6 going into Monday afternoon.
Wilson maintains lead over O’Connor
Kyren Wilson holds a 10-6 lead over Joe O’Connor after two sessions of their last-16 clash.
Wilson, so dominant in beating Dominic Dale in round one, produced superb snooker to secure a 6-2 lead after the opening session.
O’Connor took the opening frame of the evening and traded blows with Wilson all night.
A huge roar greeted a century from O’Connor in the final frame to keep himself in the hunt going into Monday’s final session.
Morning report: O'Sullivan secures lead after first session
Ronnie O'Sullivan will take a two-frame advantage over Ryan Day into this evening's session at the World Snooker Championship, having gone 5-3 up at the conclusion of the Sunday morning session at the Crucible.
O'Sullivan, who is seeking a record-breaking eighth world title, thrashed Jackson Page 10-1 to set up the encounter against Day, who had got past Barry Hawkins 10-8.
Day got off to a positive start, but missed a routine red after 16 points. It took just seven minutes for O'Sullivan to capitalise on this mistake, wrapping up the first frame with a flawless 123 clearance.
It appeared as if the world No. 1 would be heading for back-to-back centuries in the second frame, but he missed the penultimate red to end his break on 84.
Despite trailing 2-0, Day battled back before the mid-session interval. In an error-strewn third frame for both players, the world No. 18 finally got on the board.
O'Sullivan looked out of sorts again in the fourth frame, with Day capitalising on a missed red to bring the encounter level.
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'How intimidating it must be...' - O'Sullivan breezes to break of 84 against Day
After returning from a brief break, O'Sullivan took the lead with a break of 83. He then raced to 51 in the sixth frame, but missed a red to give Day a chance on the table.
His opponent squandered his chance, however, and O'Sullivan added 36 to restore his two-frame advantage.
Still Day did not give up, making one of the centuries of the tournament so far with a superb 115 clearance.
O'Sullivan responded with his own dominant performance, securing a 92 break to take a 5-3 lead into this evening's session.
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O'Sullivan superbly sinks long last red as he takes fifth frame against Day
Meanwhile, Stephen Maguire beat Shaun Murphy 13-9 to set up a quarter-final tie against David Gilbert.
Maguire had a 10-6 lead heading into this morning's session, needing just three frames to progress.
It was a scrappy start to the 17th frame but Maguire put together 68 to increase his advantage, before Murphy dug deep to reduce the deficit to four frames again with a break of 47.
The momentum swung back in favour of Maguire, who went within one frame from victory with a break of 73.
Again Murphy clung on, this time winning two frames on the bounce with breaks of 67 and 46.
His resistance finally faltered, however, with Maguire winning the match in style after a brilliant 127. The world No. 28 will now be back in action against Gilbert on Tuesday, April 30.
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