Report
Final
John Higgins vs.
Stephen Hendry
The current year's ranking list had proved
a faultless predictor of the
event - the World Nos. 1 and 2 in the final, having beaten respectively Nos.
3 and 4 in the semi-finals, so the closeness and tension in this match
should have been no surprise, and it is difficult to imagine a more even
match. At first it looked quite the opposite: inside the first half hour
Hendry was 2-0 up with breaks of 38, 49, and 51 against a reply of only 19.
The third was decided on two Hendry flukes: the first allowed him a 24
response to Higgins' initial 68 but the second deprived him of a vital
colour off the last red, so honours were even and the score 2-1. The fourth
frame went to Hendry aided by another fluked red which produced 4 crucial
points from a Higgins foul, enabling a 63-61 score in the frame. After the
interval Higgins quickly recovered to 3-all with breaks of 63, 35, and 25. A
79 break gave Hendry the 7th in just over 9 minutes, but at the end of the
first session it was level again at 4 -all after a low-scoring scrappy final
frame was won by Higgins 52- 7
The pattern continued into the evening session, with Higgins continually on
Hendry's heels, but never ahead. The first frame was again less than 10
minutes, Hendry won with a single break, 99-0. Higgins replied with similar
style and speed: 87-0 in just under 9 minutes to level at 5-all. The
eleventh was much longer and much closer, with missed pots on both sides,
but Hendry cleared up from the green to win it by 73 to 64 and lead again
6-5. Again Higgins levelled before the final interval leading by 67 and
leaving Hendry one chance at the 67 on the table, but then clearing up with
a break of 61. The 13th looked as if Higgins would finally take the lead,
but he saw his 67-34 advantage, with one red left, beaten by a timely
clearance from Hendry: 67-69 and 6-7. Both had their chances in the next
frame too, but it was again Higgins who equalised with breaks of 32 and 72.
By this stage there was a degree of seeming inevitability about the fact
that the next two frames would also be shared and indeed Hendry won the 15th
84-1 but it was significant that in the 16th he had the chance to win the
match, scored 14 points and missed a relatively simple black. It was to be
his penultimate shot, as Higgins went on to win the frame with a 102
clearance, the first century break of the match.
The atmosphere inside the Plymouth Pavilions was electric as the scoreline
reached 8-8, and even the seemingly uninterested ushers were on the edges of
their seats as Higgins started the crucial deciding frame. His break-off
shot left Hendry an easy red over the corner pocket, but it was to be the
World Number One's only shot: his resulting miss let John Higgins in for an
impressive break of 85 to win the match 9-8.
First semi-final
John Higgins vs.
Mark J Williams
A somewhat scrappy game with neither player seeming to be at his best:
Higgins seemed nervous following his near-miss with Gary Ponting in the
quarter-final and again lacked the killer instinct in the early frames;
Williams looked far from the decisive defending champion who had
outmanoeuvred Ronnie O'Sullivan. The first two 20-minute frames were shared,
after which Williams took the lead with a convincing 129 break. Higgins
levelled but was soon 3-4 down; Williams could have extended his lead, but
his misses on the pink and the black let Higgins in to win the 8th, and from
there it was largely one-way traffic. Higgins started well in the 9th with
breaks of 21 and 27, although Williams was unlucky when the cue-ball
settled on the pink after he potted red and green, the hampered cueing led
him to miss the next red and Higgins completed the frame with a break of 42.
His bad luck continued in the next frame: Higgins fluked a red and looked
like settling the match at that visit, but his attempt to split the pack
failed and let in Williams for a break of 46. A missed red finally proved
fatal: Higgins cleared to the blue to win the frame 78-46 and the match 6-4
Second semi-final
Ken Doherty vs.
Stephen Hendry
An important pre-Crucible opportunity for the
World Champion and the World No. 1 to show what they are capable of producing at their best. Early
exchanges were understandably cautious, and after an hour , Hendry led 2-1.
He looked like heading for an early, easy victory with breaks of 66 in the
4th, 52 in the 5th, and 78 in the 6th . Doherty had chances but seemed to
lack the fluency to take them, as in the 5th when a loose safety shot from
Hendry left the cue-ball open near the baulk line: Doherty missed one
attempt at the long red, was given another chance next shot but could only
take red and green before running out of position and setting up his
opponent for another frame-winning break.
With Hendry 4 ahead with 5 to play, the 7th frame looked like going the
same way: a loose break-off shot and a couple of misses by Doherty left
Hendry 48-1 ahead, but Doherty at the table. Suddenly seeming revitalised he
took the frame with a fast and fluent 53 break, and came out for the 8th
firing on all cylinders, winning it with a break of 74, Hendry conceding
with just 67 left. The 9th was even more spectacular: 10 reds and 10 blacks
meant that the frame was safe and thoughts of a maximum break were buzzing
round the arena. Unfortunately the 11th red took him too far from the black
but that 6-minute frame took him to only 4-5 down. Eleven minutes later,
however, it was proved that he had left himself too much of a comeback task
- after two minor flurries a Hendry break of 83 sealed frame and match.
The Ladies British Open Final 1998
Early risers on Sunday 12 April were treated to the final of the Ladies
event, between Kelly Fisher and Karen Corr. A best-of-seven match, it was
characterised by few breaks of the size usually seen in the men's game,
relying more on safety and a higher number of visits to the table. Kelly
Fisher must regard herself as unfortunate, since the 4-0 scoreline to her
opponent did not really reflect the match, but that should take nothing away
from Karen Corr's stylish performance. This is not the place to debate the
role of women in the professional game, so suffice it to say that the match
on Sunday morning was as different from that in the afternoon as is the case
in watching men's tennis singles as opposed to women's. Both have their
differences, both have their attractions, but different the two games
certainly are if this match was a representative one.
Ian Holden
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