Australia’s Neil Robertson defeated Barry Hawkins 5-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Huading Nylon World Open in Yushan, setting up a last four meeting with Chinese superstar Ding Junhui.
Victory for Robertson puts him through to the semi-finals of a ranking event for the first time since the 2022 English Open. The intermittent period has seen the 2010 Crucible king dip down the rankings, as he struggled with his form.
If Robertson goes on to win the event he will force his way into the upcoming Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship, where only the top 12 players of the season qualify. He will also cling on to his place in the top 16 of the rankings and avoid a trip to World Championship qualifying.
This week’s event has seen a relentless standard of break building power and Robertson kept that up in this evening’s encounter. Runs of 127, 87 and 87 helped him into an early 3-0 lead, before Hawkins pegged him back in the last before the mid-session.
When play resumed, a break of 115 put Robertson a frame from victory at 4-1. Although Londoner Hawkins pulled another back, it was the Melbourne cueman who fired in 79 to take the seventh and win 5-2.
“My game is absolutely back to where it should be now and that is really exciting heading into the back end of the season. It is a blockbuster match tomorrow. If you can’t enjoy playing Ding in a semi-final in China then there’s something wrong.”
Neil Robertson
2010 World Champion
Robertson added: “I’m just focussed on this week. You can see my game is in great shape. I know what happens if I win the event, but good things always come whenever you win tournaments. I’ve never been one to put myself under pressure to win events to qualify for things. I wouldn’t have achieved what I have in the game if I did.”
Ding earned his progression with a superb 5-0 win over Iranian number one Hossein Vafaei.
Hundreds of fans gathered on the streets of Yushan gathered to watch their hero in action with the match being projected onto a big screen. They weren’t disappointed, with Ding firing in breaks of 73, 74, 135 and 102 on his way to the whitewash victory.
Ding will be hoping to rectify a poor recent record against Robertson tomorrow, having lost their last four meetings.
