Scottish Open 2021 - Ryan Day made to pay for errors as John Higgins cruises into the Round of 16
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Updated 09/12/2021 at 15:35 GMT
Higgins pounced upon a particularly sloppy performance from his Welsh opponent, beginning with an accomplished 93 but not requiring breaks of particular substance thereafter. The Scot twice won his home tournament in a previous incarnation of the Scottish Open but has not been beyond the fourth round in the last three years.
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John Higgins cruised into the Round of 16 at the Scottish Open with a 4-0 victory over Ryan Day.
The Scot started well and capitalised on a number of errors from his Welsh opponent to claim a win without losing a frame.
"It probably doesn't happen for me a lot, winning 4-0 very quickly," Higgins reflected on a fine victory afterwards It's normally 4-2 or 4-3, which takes a lot more out of you, so it was good to win that match [like that].
"When you are out there as a player you want to be feeling good. Your confidence gets up a little bit.
"I'm having great fun. I would love to get out there and really go for it, devil may care like Judd Trump or Ronnie O'Sullivan, but that's not the way I've ever played snooker."
Having looked a little way short of his best against Noppon Saengkham yesterday, Higgins began in a much more composed manner.
An accomplished opening 93 put him 1-0 ahead, before Day squandered a good start with a reasonably simple missed pink to the middle in frame two.
Higgins failed to make him pay immediately, but an even more straightforward blue also failed to find a pocketed home from the cue of Day, and the "Wizard of Wishaw" doubled his advantage.
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Yet more errors from the Welshman allowed Higgins a further extension of a now 3-0 lead, and Day continued to struggle, wasting a third frame-winning chance in succession to cede the match without registering a frame.
"Ryan didn't really settle," Higgins said of a sloppy showing from his opponent. "When you are 2-0 behind and you've missed a couple of chances it is easy for your head to drop, and maybe that is what happened today.
Higgins will be in action again in the evening session, up against either Martin Gould or Zhang Anda for a place in the quarter-finals.
"I'll go back and maybe have a kip for an hour, maybe have a read, and then come back and play again."
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