Reardon on long road back

Press, 14 May 1982, Page 28

Reardon on long road back

NZPA London Ray Reardon will resume his Embassy World Professional Snooker Championship semi-final against Eddie Charlton at Sheffield today — three months after believing he was finished as a top player. Reardon was barracked by his own fans last February as he tried to recapture the form that brought him six world titles in the 19705, the last in 1978. The Stoke-based Welshman said: “I decided that the best way to practise was to take on some of the local players and they shot me to pieces. “People watching at the snooker centre were shouting out ‘Rubbish Reardon.’ It is a long time since anyone called me that and I began to think I was over the hill. • “I was also trying to get used to a new cue. The one I had used for 30 years became useless when I broke two inches off it and it took me two years to find a replacement. • “People were wonderful. Perfect strangers were sending me cues to try but I ’ finally found one myself and after six months I am now happy with it. Reardon' lost the first three frames to his old rival yesterday before reeling off four in a row to revive Charlton’s own bad dreams of defeat by Reardon. He lost to him in two world finals, in 1973 and 1975, after leading comfortably. Alex Higgins stormed off for an hour's practice after being pulled back to 4-4 in the other semi-final, against Jimmy White. Higgins led. 4-1, and believed he was on his way to the sixth frame when he heard a camera click and sent the cue ball into the pocket after a brown. Higgins said: "I was very annoyed with the photo-' grabber. He cost me a 5-1 But the 33-year-old Manchester Irishman was being unfair to White; the 20-year-old from Tooting, who had played magnificently to get. back into the match, which was to resume later.