Snooker: Davis' dream run comes to a swift end

(GETTY IMAGES)

Steve Davis' adventure at the World Championships was ended in the quarter-finals yesterday as he was beaten 13-5 by the Australian Neil Robertson in Sheffield.

Down 12-4 overnight, a comeback was never really on the cards for 52-year-old Davis. But he was understandably pleased with his achievement having dumped out John Higgins, the defending champion and world No 1, in his previous match.

"Sometimes matches are won and lost in the early part and I lost it in the first session," reflected Davis. "I had a rotten session. It started with a bad kick and to be quite honest Neil played really well. I didn't play very well. I didn't get off the ground and struggled."

Davis did win the first frame of the concluding session, but Robertson – a four-time ranking event winner – needed just over half an hour to make sure of a second Crucible semi-final in successive seasons. "All credit to Steve for taking it into the final session because I was trying to wrap the match up with a session to spare," revealed Robertson. "But I haven't played well at all and some of the seeds I was due to face were not there. I'm sure I'll handle the semi-final better this time and hopefully get more rest in between sessions."

Earlier in the day the 2006 champion Graeme Dott fought back from 12-10 behind to clinch a dramatic 13-12 victory over Mark Allen.