Snooker: Griffiths hands out a lesson
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Your support makes all the difference.Terry Griffiths taught his younger countryman, Darren Morgan, a comprehensive lesson in reaching the quarter-finals of the Thailand Classic in Bangkok yesterday.
Griffiths defeated Morgan 5-0 in a one-sided contest and today tackles the world champion, Stephen Hendry, for the 15th time. The odds on a Welsh victory, however, are remote, with Hendry having won all their previous 14 matches.
"I've nothing to lose against the best player in the world," said Griffiths. "Every ranking point I get these days is a bonus, I'm just happy I'm still involved in the tournament."
Griffiths is wearing glasses this season for the first time. "I knew I had to, I just couldn't focus properly," he explained. "Last season I really struggled with my eyes."
Griffiths is not the only one happy to still be in the tournament as Hendry had to come back from two games down to beat Peter Ebdon for the second time in eight days. Hendry never quite produced the form that he is capable of but made the most of the Englishman's late mistakes.
A 5-4 victory followed the Scot's 9-5 win in the final of the Regal Masters at Motherwell, but Hendry confessed: "I didn't play well all night while at times Peter played out of his skin. I just kept plugging away in the hope that something would come out of it."
Ebdon said: "I played well enough to win but a couple of positional shots went wrong towards the end. Stephen didn't seem interested when I went 3-1 ahead but that was his way of taking the pressure off himself and the only way he could win."
Joe Swail, a former English amateur champion, defeated Jimmy White 5- 3 to claim his first victory over the world No 7 in four attempts. Swail, ranked 18 but in the top 16 last season, admitted that a somewhat wayward lifestyle had not helped his snooker.
"I was going to too many discos and drinking far too much beer for my own good. I felt when I was in the top 16 I didn't deserve to be there. I knew I had to get my act together to survive at this level," said the 26-year-old Manchester-based Irishman. "I've cut down on the night-outs and the drinking as well and instead got my head down at the practice table. I can't grumble so far and when you have taken out a top player like Jimmy, your confidence is bound to soar."
The Belfast-born Swail faces Nigel Bond today for a place in the semi- finals.
Results, Sporting Digest, page 27
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