Maguire hits wrong note against Fu fighter
Scotland’s disappointing fortunes in the 888.com World Championship continued today when Stephen Maguire made a lacklustre start to his second-round match against Marco Fu.
The two best known Scottish players, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins, both fell at the opening hurdle in Sheffield and now fourth seed Maguire has his work cut to avoid following them home.
Told he could dominate the game for a decade by Ronnie O’Sullivan on his way to winning the 2004 UK Championship, Maguire looked far from a top-notch player as he ended the first session 6-2 down.
The 25-year-old’s highest break was just 44 and while his victory over Mark King on Monday had been expected to lift his confidence after a poor run, there was no sign of him finding his true form.
Fu, however, performed really well and contributions of 125, 91, 74 and 57 indicated the 28-year-old from Hong Kong is playing well enough to cause an upset if Maguire fails to raise his game.
On the other table, Australia’s Neil Robertson showed why many experts are tipping him to become world champion in the near future as he moved to within three frames of a quarter-final spot.
Having started the second session with a 6-2 lead over Stephen Lee, the 24-year-old from Melbourne maintained his four-frame advantage in going 10-6 up ahead of tonight’s conclusion.
