Swail makes Williams wail

By Geet Sethi

SHEFFIELD, APRIL 28. Mark Williams, the World No. 1 and defending champion, has been eliminated 13-12 by Joe Swail in a thrilling second round match at the 2001 Embassy World Snooker Championship on Saturday. Swail's victory, achieved with a combination of grit, determination, steely nerves and panache, will be remembered as one of the great comebacks by an underdog at snooker's most famous venue.

The 32-year-old Irishman, ranked 16, somehow manages to bring out his best in the World championships. Last year, he was a 10-6 first round winner against Paul Hunter, then he eliminated John Parrott 13-12 coming from four frames down. and finally reached the semifinal with a 13-9 win over Dominic Dale.

Notwithstanding his affinity for comebacks, few would have backed him after he trailed 8-3 against a player of Williams' calibre. Swail had struggled throughout the first session, his highest break of 55 in the first eighteen frames reflected his state of mind and his lack of precision. Yet, he managed to find something special, which allows a sportsman to reach for the stars. He attributed the sparkling display in the third session to a changed tip. ``I could not control the cue ball and so I changed my cue tip last night.''

Managing to reduce his deficit to 10-7 without any big breaks, Swail was still trailing at 11-7. But the first indication of a return to form was provided in the nineteenth frame. A fluent contribution of 77, which allowed him to win the frame from 48-0 down, injected the first dose of adrenaline into his system. A 66-65 victory in the twentieth then gave him hope to pursue for a winner. And when he uncorked a 140 total clearance, he sensed victory and also realised that he was close to reaching the doors of victory.

The 140 total clearance eclipsed the 139 jointly held by John Higgins and Mathew Stevens for the 20,000 Pounds high break prize. It also enabled Swail to come to within striking distance at 11-10 and more importantly sowed the first seed of doubt and uncertainty into his opponent.

Williams admitted after the match, ``I have just been playing poorly.'' Yet, not once during the first 20 frames of the intriguing contest did he once look worried or threatened. His body language, his expression of insolence and self-belief never deserted him in the opening twenty frames. But that 140 by his opponent hit him hard. In only a few moments, the confidence and impudence gave way to feelings of self-doubt and insecurity.

Swail relentlessly applied the pressure firing in a 58 to draw level at 11-11. It was at this stage that the contest reached dizzying heights. Williams, who last year defeated Mathew Stevens 18-16 in the final, after trailing 13-7, constructed a highly improbable 71 to once again lead 12-11 requiring only one of the remaining two frames for victory. The 71 featured some great stroke play, the highlight of which was a superb thin cut to pot the red into the top pocket. It was all the more creditable, as it was a response to an early 48 compiled by Swail.

Given his pedigree and history for withstanding pressure, one would have backed Williams at this stage. Yet, it was Swail, who held on to his nerve. He won the last two frames in style and with admirable fluency, two decisive contributions of 91 and 55 gave credence to his heroism.

With the unexpected and early elimination of the defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan will be adjudged as the title favourite. The World No. 4 came up with a typically fluent performance on Friday night extending his 5-3 first session advantage against Dave Harold to 10-6.

The mercurial 26-year-old, so prone to sudden mood swings, briefly lost focus in the second session, but recovered his concentration to conclude the session with a flourish. O'Sullivan's form can be gauged by the fact that he has constructed ten breaks over 50 in the sixteen frames played so far, including runs of 100 in the first frame of the match and 114 and 106 in the last two frames of the second session on Friday night.

Mathew Stevens, the World No. 6 scored an emphatic 13- 5 victory over Anthony Hamilton. Stevens' victory, which was embellished with three century breaks, takes him into the quarterfinals, where he will meet either Paul Hunter or Stephen Hendry.

Ken Doherty, winner here in 1998 recovered from a 2-0 deficit against Michael Judge and ended the second session with a commanding 11-5 lead over his compatriot. The World no.7 requires only two of the remaining nine frames of the third session for a place in the last 8.

Second round results: best of 25 frames: Mathew Stevens bt Anthony Hamilton 13-5. 79-48, 74(51)-33, 113(100)-6, 84(68)-6, 0- 114(114), 87(83)-20, 66(51)-31, 97(78)-16, 43-63, 126(126)-1, 1- 111(110), 0-72(54), 72(52)-52, 139(139)-0, 19-81(51), 64-53(53), 82(62)-0, 67-25

Joe Swail bt Mark Williams 13-12. 59-13, 60-71, 82(55)-46, 1-69, 23-71, 87-0, 17-55, 34-69, 29-67, 39-60, 1- 101(101), 61-3, 57- 23, 56-12, 18-74, 26-61, 92-5, 29-75, 77(77)- 48, 66-65, 140(140)-0, 81(58)-40, 55-71(71), 91(91)-0, 65(55)-11.

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