Welsh Open 2022 - Ronnie O'Sullivan fights hard to extend fine record against Ding Junhui

Ronnie O’Sullivan was made to dig extremely deep to beat Ding Junhui 4-2 in the last 32 of the Welsh Open.

O’Sullivan holds an impressive record against Ding, and he needed to show steel and quality to make it 19 wins from their 23 meetings.

Ding had the upper hand in the first half of a high-quality contest, but he missed a tough red down the rail with his left hand in the fifth and O’Sullivan pinched the frame and went on to secure the win to keep alive his hopes of equalling John Higgins at the top of the list of Welsh Open wins.

There was a remarkable sight in the opener, as O’Sullivan missed a sitter to the bottom left - it’s one he would make 999 times out of 1000, and it proved costly as Ding stepped in with a 72 to take the lead.

The second frame was a role reversal of the first, as Ding missed when looking well set and O’Sullivan capitalised with a run of 85 to level.

Ding has looked short of confidence for much of the season, but he took on a number of brave pots in the third and was rewarded with breaks of 65 and 59 to restore his lead.

The fourth was a rollercoaster affair. O’Sullivan got in first with a glorious long red, only to miss a simple red - once again to the bottom left. Ding opened up a decent lead, but did not kill it off and O’Sullivan produced a deft touch to move the final red from the side rail and went on to clear to draw level.

Pocket-picking was a theme of the contest, and O’Sullivan pulled off, in the words of Phil Studd in the Eurosport commentary box, a piece of “grand larceny” in the fifth.

Ding was all set to take the frame, but missed an admittedly difficult red with his wrong hand.

A short while later, O’Sullivan was faced with a fiendish red into the yellow pocket, but he took on the challenge and was rewarded as it dropped into the hole.

Fortune favours the brave, and he got a slice of luck with a kiss on the yellow and went on to clear the colours to move ahead.

Ding had a chance in the sixth, but missed a black when well set and O'Sullivan punished his friend and rival to secure a spot in the round of 16.

Rick Walden lies in wait for O’Sullivan later on Thursday after he got the better of Yan Bingtao.

Ryan Day gave the home fans something to cheer about with an impressive 4-0 win over Shaun Murphy, and he will face Hossein Vafaei following his victory over Jak. Jones.

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