Ding eases into Welsh Open semis

NEWPORT, United Kingdom (AFP) – Defending champion Ding Junhui made light work of reaching the last four of the Wales Open with a 5-1 quarterfinal win over England’s Robert Milkins on Friday.

The Chinese cueman has not won a major title since defeating Mark Selby in last year’s final in south Wales.

But he looked somewhere near his best form as breaks of 50, 104 and 74 allowed him to sprint into a 4-0 lead.

Milkins stopped the rot with a break of 108 in the fifth frame and made 52 in the next. But his failure to post a frame-winning contribution was punished by Ding, who sealed victory with a clearance of 63.

Earlier, Indian potter Pankaj Advani’s history-making run came to an end with a 5-2 quarterfinal defeat by Judd Trump.

The 27-year-old from Pune had become the first Indian to reach the last eight of a snooker ranking event when he defeated Graeme Dott 4-1 on Thursday.

But Advani, a former world billiards champion, saw his hopes of further progress dashed by world number two Trump.

The Englishman, looking to make amends after first round losses at the UK Championship, Masters and German Open, raced into a 4-0 lead.

Advani then gamely prevented a whitewash and overcame a 58-point deficit in the sixth frame before Trump sealed victory.