Fallon Sherrock confident of more history on superb Grand Slam of Darts run

Fallon Sherrock made more darts history on Tuesday night as she became the first female player to reach the last 16 of the Grand Slam, but she doesn’t intend on stopping there as she prepares to take on a man she has already beaten before in the last 16.

The Queen of the Palace had already beaten Mike De Decker 5-0 in the group stage, but needed at least a 5-3 win over Gabriel Clemens in her final match to progress to the knockout stages.

At 3-1 behind things looked grim for her but she won the four legs on the spin she needed in sensational style, hitting a 141 finish to level the match and a stunning 170 to win it.

‘I don’t even know how I did that,’ she said. ‘When I approached the 170 I knew that was my only chance and that I had to take it.

‘I’m so proud of myself for doing it as it shows what I can do and gives me a lot of confidence.’

Next up for Sherrock is Mensur Suljovic on Thursday night, a man she beat in her historic run to the third round of the 2020 PDC World Championship.

Two years on she feels like a better player than the one that beat the Austrian at Alexandra Palace, learning from the high of reaching the Nordic Darts Masters final in September, only losing 11-7 to Michael van Gerwen in the showpiece.

‘I’ve played quality players that are hitting everything, so it’s kind of geared me up for this competition,’ she said. ‘I’m really grateful that I got the opportunity to play in it because it has made me a better player

‘I definitely feel more confident. I definitely feel like I’m playing better than I was two years ago. I’ve had a lot to learn from and I’m a better player for it.

‘I’m really looking forward to playing Mensur again and I’m excited to see how much further I can go.

‘I’m going into that very excited. I’m going to take each game as it comes, see how it pans out because it’s a different format [from the last time she played Suljovic]..

‘I’m just going to go in head down, focused and just hopefully produce the game that I can. I’m in this darts zone. When I play, I put my glasses on and I’m like superman!’

That run at Alexandra Palace saw Sherrock become the first female player to win a match in the PDC World Darts Championship, but as she adds more history to her CV, she insists she will not be thinking about it until her Grand Slam campaign is over.

‘I go into every tournament and think, no matter what I do I have to put it behind because if I get caught up with everything I get so distracted with everything,’ she said.

‘Tonight, I will forget about it, focus on my next game and worry about it when I finish the tournament. Appreciate how much I’ve done and feel proud of myself.’

Sherrock and Suljovic meet on Thursday evening at the Grand Slam over a best of 19 legs for a place in the quarter-finals.

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