British Open 2024: Mark Selby finally edges Yuan Sijun after being taken to deciding frame in Cheltenham
Published 25/09/2024 at 23:36 GMT+1
Yuan Sijun pushed Mark Selby to the limit in round three of the 2024 British Open, but the world No. 5 held his nerve to secure a 4-3 victory. Selby took a 2-0 lead in the match before being pegged back in a nailbiting encounter. In the evening's other matches, Jak Jones, Stan Moody and Zhang Anda progressed to the next round with impressive victories at The Centaur.
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Mark Selby won a war of attrition against Yuan Sijun 4-3 to progress to round four of the British Open.
Yuan got off to an excellent start, expertly potting a long-range red, but Selby responded with an equally classy run.
The world No. 5 proceeded to pot several loose balls, forcing Yuan to concede the opener with the score at 68-25.
Selby made a break of 27 at the start of the second frame, but then gave Yuan several chances to gain a foothold in the match with some sloppy shots.
World No. 39 Yuan responded, taking a 58-27 lead in the frame, but some poor positioning of the white let his opponent back in. Selby took advantage, edging the closely fought frame 70-58 to double his lead.
He followed that up by taking a 21-9 lead in the third, but Yuan was not out of it yet. The 2019 Gibraltar Open semi-finalist produced an excellent break of 72 to make it 2-1.
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A poor break allowed Selby to take a 36-0 lead in the early stages of the fourth, but Yuan forced his way back into it with a string of good shots and was on the verge of winning the frame at 54-36 up.
Selby turned up the pressure in the closing stages, but Yuan held on to level the match at 2-2. The Jester restored his advantage with a break of 72 to take the fifth frame.
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However, Yuan produced several superb shots on his way to a break of 129, sending the match to a decider.
That final frame was another back-and-forth battle, but Yuan could not capitalise on some excellent opportunities in the early stages, and Selby took his chance when it came to claim a 4-3 victory.
In the other evening matches, Jak Jones defeated Julian Boiko 4-1, Stan Moody beat Zhang Anda 4-3 and Lyu Haotian came out on top against Haris Tahir.
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