Nigel Bond beats Liang Wenbo to set up John Higgins clash in China Open 2011 – Snooker news
The British Open champion and former World Championship finalist, Nigel Bond, has beaten the fearless, Liang Wenbo, by a frame score of 5-3 in the final qualifying round of the China Open 2011 held on February 27 at the World Snooker Academy.
The Chinese fans would not be seeing their second best player after Ding Junhui playing for the home title.
Nigel Bond before facing Wenbo had beaten Bjorn Haneveer in a fully stretched battle by a frame score of 5-4.
There was no century made in the match by either player and the overall score-line was 50-69, 23-71, 72-26, 72-15, 65-31, 15-84, 27-55 and 5-53.
They started off with a scrappy first one that went on the coloured balls. It was Liang who had produced the highest-frame break of 40 before he lost his nerve and Bond playing intelligently took the first blood 1-0. Similarly second frame was also pocketed
by Nigel Bond although he gave the Chinese a chance to be on the table after breaking at 28 but Wenbo could not pull the frame and another 36 from Bond wrapped it up.
Liang Wenbo, who was trailing Bond by 2-0, in the third bounced back, with all his zeal, energy and strength, and won next three frames in a row enjoying breaks of 40, 58, and 44 respectively. Nigel Bond was not able to capitalise on any given chances in
these three frames which resulted in a 3-2 frame score in Liang’s favour at the interval.
But it was Bond who had no reeling effects even after losing three straight frames.
As he also roared back on resuming the play and used his vast experience to finish the matters off by winning three frames consecutively with dominant breaks of 66, 45, and 25 respectively. Wenbo had his chances but he failed.
Nigel Bond will now be facing the world number one player, John Higgins, in the last 16 of the China Open 2011 in Beijing.
It is surely going to be a tough match for Nigel Bond as Higgins is playing in his best form. He has recently won his second Welsh Open title in a row beating the former world champion Shaun Murphy by a frame score of 9-6.
Other prominent players who have made it to the last 16 are Ken Doherty, Ryan Day, Jimmy White, Matthew Stevens, and Kurt Maflin.
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