Neil Robertson continues rampant run at the China Open as Brecel, Lisowski and Donaldson also reach Semi-Finals
Robertson continues his red hot run of form (credit:Steven Paston/PA Wire/PA Images)
Neil Robertson made it 17 unanswered frames at the 2019 China Open as he whitewashed Sam Craigie to book his place in the Semi-Finals alongside Luca Brecel, Jack Lisowski and Scott Donaldson.
Robertson stepped up his quest to reach a fourth consecutive ranking final with another merciless performance in Beijing as he thrashed Newcastle’s Craigie 6-0.
The reigning Welsh Open champion entered the clash on a back of a 6-3 win over Mei Xiwen in which he came from 3-1 down, before whitewashing Lu Ning 6-0 in the Last 16.
The Australian closed out the win in style with a break of 115 to crush Craigie’s hopes in his first ranking Quarter-Final appearance.
Robertson will now face his stablemate Luca Brecel in Saturday’s Semi-Finals after ‘The Bullet’ blasted past veteran Alan McManus 6-1.
Belgian ace Brecel fired in high breaks of 139, 130 and 108, 59, 66 and 95 in a devastating display to deny the former Masters Champion in what was his best run in ranking competition for three years.
Meanwhile, in-form Lisowski continued his sensational season by producing an ice-cool clearance in the deciding frame to edge out Stuart Bingham.
Lisowski, playing with a new tip after requiring a replacement midway through his match against Li Hang, led 3-0 with breaks of 93 and 108 along the way before Bingham got off the mark in style with a break of 118.
The duo exchanged frames five and six before Bingham snatched a 45-minute seventh on the final black, but Lisowski responded with a 74 to go with a frame of victory.
Bingham, who made a stunning 147 break earlier in the week, clinched frame nine before following up with a superb break of 108 to force a decider.
The six-time ranking event winner looked on course to seal the deal, only to break down on 57, and after initially leading by 14 points, Lisowski stepped in with a tremendous clearance of 52 under pressure to prevail.
Lisowski, who has reached his third ranking Semi-Final of the season, will now face Scotland’s Scott Donaldson after he overcame Ben Woollaston 6-4 to reach his fifth ranking Semi-Final.
The world number 52 got over the line in style with a break of 130 in frame ten after a hard-fought encounter.
Donaldson is now the only player capable of uprooting David Gilbert from the 16th and final automatic qualifying spot for the World Championship should he go on to win the title on Sunday.
China Open 2019 Results
Friday April 5
Quarter-Finals
Sam Craigie 0-6 Neil Robertson
Alan McManus 1-6 Luca Brecel
Jack Lisowski 6-5 Stuart Bingham
Ben Woollaston 4-6 Scott Donaldson