Ali Carter preys on Jack Lisowski’s errors to keep Crucible dream alive

Ali Carter took advantage of an error-strewn display from Jack Lisowski to advance to the second round in Sheffield.

The two-times World Snooker Championship runner-up had to come through qualifying to make his 17th consecutive appearance at the Crucible, but eased to a 10-6 victory over the 11th seed, Lisowski, to set up a last-16 clash with China’s Zhou Yuelong. Carter held a 5-4 lead overnight and took the first two frames of the day before a fluked red set up a break of 73 and took him into an 8-4 lead.

Lisowski looked like reducing his deficit in the 13th frame, only to miss a simple brown into the yellow pocket, and Carter cleared up to move within one frame of victory. The 39-year-old from Essex handed Lisowski a lifeline when he missed the black to seal victory in the next frame and his opponent took advantage of the reprieve in style with a total clearance of 124 in frame 15. But a break of 46 in the next helped Carter seal a fully-deserved win.

“I felt like I should have won 10-4 really, I felt like I outplayed him and he’s so talented, he’s Ronnie O’Sullivan all over again,” Carter told BBC 2. “At 9-4 he’s let his arm go and before I know it he’s made a 120-odd and I thought just stick to what you were doing all match and I’m delighted to get through.”

On the other table, Neil Robertson claimed a 5-3 lead over fellow former champion Shaun Murphy after the first session of their second-round encounter. Murphy failed to pot a ball in the first three frames but fought back to win two of the last three frames and could have compiled a maximum break in the last frame of the session. After potting 13 reds and 13 blacks Murphy even paused to ask for the screen separating the tables to be lifted but went on to miss a tough final red into the middle pocket.

Robertson had earlier compiled breaks of 106, 79, 57 and 127 in a high-quality encounter between two players who had lost just one frame between them in the first round.

In the evening session the No 8 seed, Kyren Wilson, resumes his first-round match against Scott Donaldson 6-2 up, while Mark Selby takes on Gary Wilson in the opening match in round two.

source: theguardian.com