Murphy fightback ends Allen bid
01/02/2006 - 18:58:29Shaun Murphy won the battle of the world champions to clinch his place in the second round of the Malta Cup in Portomaso.
Murphy, the reigning world professional champion, defeated Northern Irish teenager Mark Allen, who currently holds the world amateur crown, 5-2.
A shock had looked on the cards when 19-year-old Allen won the first two frames.
Murphy’s usual policy is to attack but he has decided to work harder on the tactical side of his game since losing 6-4 to John Higgins in the Saga Insurance Masters quarter-finals last month.
And the new safety-first approach bore fruit as 23-year-old Murphy grafted to win the next five frames, although he complained that the playing conditions had hindered both players.
“It was really difficult getting used to the conditions,” said Murphy.
“It was a lottery. The cushions were giving off really strange bounces and there was a bad contact every other shot. It made it hard to play your normal game.”
Indeed, Murphy’s highest break in the match was just 54 but he played well to contain Allen, one of snooker’s rising stars.
“Mark’s a very good player and looks like he has great potential,” Murphy added.
“I could have been 4-0 down at the interval without having done much wrong.
“I see a lot of myself in him. He goes for a lot of his shots and sometimes doesn’t know what to do, which has been something I’ve been guilty of.
“I’ve been working very hard since the Masters, looking at tightening my game up and it seems to be paying off. I’ve worked on my safety game and on correcting something I’ve been doing since I was 10.”
Steve Davis, who reached the final of the UK Championship in December, was beaten 5-4 by Finnish number one Robin Hull.
Davis needed five snookers to stand a chance of winning the decider but after getting four of them Hull fluked the last red for victory.
Peter Ebdon, the world number seven, surrendered a 3-0 lead over Stuart Bingham, who fought back to win 5-4.
<-- BACK TO STORY