Davis makes semi-finals

Press, 27 April 1989, Page 52

Davis makes semi-finals

r Sheffield, England The defending champion, Steve Davis, of England, is through to the semi-finals of the world snooker championship — and he has barely broken sweat. The deadly Davis destroyed fellow-Englishman Mike Hallett for the second successive year, winning 13-3 yesterday to render today’s scheduled third session unnecessary. But Hallett did manage the highest break of the event so far, a 133 in the fifteenth frame. In the semi-finals, Davis will meet either Stephen Hendry, of Scotland, or Terry Griffiths, of Wales,

the fourth and fifth seeds who resume their quarterfinal today level at 4-4. In the two other matches to be completed, the seventh seed, John Parrott, was heading for an upset victory over English compatriot Jimmy White, the second seed, after opening a 7-1 lead and Tony Meo led fellowEnglishman Dean Reynolds, 9-7, in a battle between two unseeded players. Davis, bidding to equal Ray Reardon’s modernday record of six world titles, has grown stronger with each round. He beat Steve Newbury, 10-5, in his opening match, then has put down Steve Dug-

gan and Hallett by identical 13-3 scorelines. Hallett, aged 29, has suffered more than most against Davis. Hammered 13-1 in the second round last year, he has now lost their last six meetings by a massive margin of 58 frames to 13. “Mike gave me bundles of opportunities and I punished him well,” Davis said. “I was expecting a harder game than last year. I played Mike last month and his game was well balanced.” Hallett commented: “I was getting in among the balls, then breaking down. It was more a case of unforced errors than forced errors. You can’t afford that at this level.

“If Davis gets in first he’s relentless. But if you can stay with him you get chances. He’s not unbeatable.” Davis made a total clearance of 128 in the second frame of the day. Hallett later bettered that with his 133 — his highest in tournament play. Unfortunately, he was 12-2 down at the time and it merely delayed the inevitable. Meo’s main success used to come with Davis, with whom he won the world doubles four times. But he emerged as a top player in his own right by winning the British Open last month, defeating Reynolds, 13-6, in the final.