Snooker news - Ding Junhui rates performance in Scottish Open first round as 'best ever'
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Updated 10/12/2019 at 15:36 GMT
Ding Junhui could not remember a better match of snooker he had played after he beat Michael White 4-1 in the opening round of the Scottish Open.
YORK, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 08: Ding Junhui of China celebrates after winning the final match against Stephen Maguire of Scotland on day 13 of 2019 Betway UK Championship at The Barbican on December 08, 2019 in York, England. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Imag
Image credit: Getty Images
Ding had not even practised in between winning the UK Championship for a third time on Sunday night, beating Stephen Maguire 10-6 in York, and stepping into the arena in Glasgow to face White.
The Chinese player lost the first frame but then motored to victory with four frames on the spin, including two centuries and two half-centuries; of the 112 pots he attempted, he missed only five.
"That was the best performance I've ever had," said Ding after winning in under an hour.
"I haven't played [since the UK Championship final] so in the first frame I was just trying to get the feeling back.
"In the second frame I got more chances and then more points, more points, good cueing and I felt much better."
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Ding makes ‘terrific’ century against White
Ding's two previous appearances in the Home Nations series this year have ended in disaster with defeat in the first round, but that was never a consideration for the new UK champion.
Ding added: "There was no pressure today. I was just trying to play the way I did all week and good things happened."
Ding's triumph at the Barbican on Sunday was his first ranking title for two years, and his resurgence has been attributed largely to the influence of new coach Django Fung.
"After the China Championship we met and had a chat," Ding said.
"We spoke the same language so he knows me more and can dig through what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling, what the problems in practice and the match were.
"He hasn't fixed everything but one thing after another and another and things look now like they are working good."
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