BEIJING, Apr. 3-- World No. 1 Mark Selby was unexpectedly made to sweat in the unseasonable Beijing spring heat in the revamped China Open Snooker Tournament on Monday, with players eyeing a final chance to book their ticket to this year's World Championships. In what was supposed to be a routine qualifier, "The Jester" was left wiping his brow after being pushed by world No. 91 Wang Yuchen before eventually winning 6-4. Even with the pressure of the TV lights, the 20-year-old Wang looked assured and quickly took the opening frame. The second got even better for the young man. Wang calmly dispatching the balls to 96 - only to rattle the black for his century break. Selby hit back with breaks of 83 and 87, and a scrappy third to go 3-2 up. Wang came back again, an aggressive split of the reds allowed him to hit a break of 71 for 3-3. Selby ground out for 4-3. Wang clawed back for 4-4, finishing the frame with some showboating on the colors. Selby eventually had too much, taking the last two frames and his place in the first round. RELAXED RONNIE For tournament favorite Ronnie O'Sullivan, it was quite a different story. Visibly jet-lagged, "The Rocket" didn't need to be at his best to see off Ross Muir 6-2. Instead, he said the tournament was a chance to relax and meet Chinese fans, joking that he was on his best behavior. "I don't play snooker for money. But maybe for some of the other players it's a big opportunity to make some big money. But for me, fortunately, I'm alright in that area so I just come to play for fun," he said. "China is the best place in the world. So any opportunity to come to China, I take every opportunity. So, for me it's just like a holiday, and just good to be here," O'Sullivan added. |