Gould suffers agonising defeat to Ding at Crucible

Martin Gould suffered an agonising first-round defeat at the World Snooker Championship after Ding Junhui won four straight frames to pinch a 10-8 victory.

The Pinner Potter had trailed 5-4 after the morning session at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, but won four of the first five frames of the evening to lead 8-6.

But Ding – a former semi-finalist who had to qualify for this year’s tournament after dropping out of the top 16 – produced some superb breaks and showed great temperament to end Gould’s interest.

After a tight tussle in the morning, an unlucky in-off on the blue in frame 10 saw Gould level at 5-5.

Both players then made frame-winning breaks of 53 to leave it tied at 6-6, with Gould heading into the mid-session interval ahead for the first time in the match after a flawless 96.

A remarkable 14th frame appeared to be heading Ding’s way when Gould needed snookers, but some fine tactical play drew the fouls required and the west Londoner cleared up to lead 8-6.

But at 17 in the world, and as a two-time UK Championship winner, Ding was always the most dangerous non-seeded opponent – and he showed why with superb breaks of 132, 86 and 100 to put him on the verge of victory.

In a tense 18th frame, Gould missed a red into the middle and a blue into the bottom corner when presented with opportunities but still ground out a lead after Ding also broke down.

However, at 48-35 ahead, Gould ran out of position in trying to develop a tough red, which he then missed into the corner, and a telling safety from Ding later gave him the chance to clear up and take the match.

Afterwards, Gould said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better start, winning three of the first four and then pinching that frame to go 8-6.

“I should have gone 9-7 up but I missed a couple of silly ones and got punished. I can’t complain, in fairness, the better man won.”