Ding sting in Aditya Mehta fairytale

World No.4 Junhui ends local cueist's dream run in tournament with a 5-0 win in the title clash.

With Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta in the same side of the draw,most local interest was understandably focused on that end of the fixtures. The anticipated all-Indian quarterfinal came to pass,and then Mehta progressed all the way to the final,making history in the process. It was only at around this point that attention drifted towards Mehtas opponent in the final World No. 4 Ding Junhui.

It may have slipped the notice of the local media contingent,but Junhui was making a lot of noise. He had knocked out four-time World Champion John Higgins in the round of 16,World No. 1 Neil Robinson in the quarters,and smashed in a 142 break,the highest of the tournament,in his semifinal win over Robbie Williams.

Mehta too had beaten his share of illustrious opponents on the way,and there was considerable anticipation ahead of the final. However,all that the title clash did was highlight how far Mehta still has to travel if he is to be considered a genuine title challenger at this level.

Implacable in attack and solid in defence,Junhui handed Mehta a hiding,winning 5-0 in the best-of-nine-frames contest. Most of Mehtas safeties looked adequate until Junhui sniped down an impossible red,setting him up for a break. Junhui expertly tended to these openings,breaking open the table and plucking the reds and colours off one by one. He had a break of 52 in the first frame,81 in the second,107 in the third,93 in the fourth and 100 in the fifth. Junhuis domination was so complete that Mehta could pick up just two points in six frames,totaling just 28 points for the game.

Mehta had no answers,but he would go home richer by 25,000 pounds and with his ranking set to jump into the early 60s after his run to the final.

In the semifinal earlier in the day,Mehta almost let a 3-0 frame lead slip against World No. 5 Stephen Maguire,but stepped it up in the decider to continue his amazing run in the tournament.

The match lasted a few minutes short of the three-hour mark though Mehtas dominance at the beginning raised visions of a quick blanking. Mehtas potting was assured but what was immediately apparent was the trouble Maguire was having in knocking the balls in. The top right pocket seemed particularly jinxed for the Scot,as he repeatedly missed making regulation pots in that area. Maguires jittery start continued well into the third frame,by which time Mehta had run up a lead that was pretty close to insurmountable.

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Mehta won the first frame with a break of 42,the second with 81 and the third with 132,the games only century break. At this point,Mehta had scored 353 points in a row and Maguire hadnt managed to pot a single ball.

There werent too many more mistakes Maguire could commit from here on,but he chose that moment to get his act together. Mehtas potting and defence were also a bit shaky,and Maguire worked himself back into the game with a break of 65 that eventually put him on the board. His assurance back,Maguire reeled in two more frames,and the contest,which looked all but over in the early minutes,now went into a decider.

Mehta took a healthy lead early on,going up 32-0. Maguire looked out of it until he fluked a red and managed to get the deficit down to 32-15. With the reds running out,Maguire eventually had to rely on making Mehta commit two fouls at this point,the score was 61-36 with just 18 points on the table to stand a chance in the decider. He pulled it off once,but Mehta kept his nerve in the end to win the frame 67-45.

Results: Final: Ding Junhui bt Aditya Mehta 76-26,87-0,107-0,93-1,116-1; Semifinals: Aditya Mehta bt Stephen Maguire 84-0,137-0,132-0,0-72,10-83,6-67,67-45; Ding Junhui bt Robbie Williams 111-0,90-11,146-0,0-87,76-28.