Ebdon claws his way back to beat Lee

By Geet Sethi

SHEFFIELD, MAY 1. Peter Ebdon, intense and quiet throughout his dramatic 13-12 victory over Stephen Lee erupted in an aggressive and triumphant exhibition of fist clenching and shouting after clinching the deciding frame in an intriguing and torturous 10 hours 46 minutes encounter.

In a contest in which he trailed all along, Ebdon used his iron will and focussed determination to make an unexpected comeback from 7-4 and 9-7 down to level at 11-11. Winning two of the last three frames and emotionally drained; he surprised both his opponent and the spectators with an outburst of emotion, which seemed more belligerent than usual.

His opponent, Stephen Lee, ranked 5 was visibly disturbed by the explosive display and said it was ``over the top and not sporting''. Lee added, ``He should leave that kind of thing for the dressing room''. Ebdon however denied meaning any disrespect to his opponent and said, `` The game was pretty tough. I'm pleased that I dug deep and did what was required. I didn't mean to have that outburst because I didn't want to show any disrespect to Stephen. I just exploded. It is not something I did consciously. Winning the game means so much to me''.

One has to give the benefit of the doubt to Ebdon. He is a great fighter and it would surprise many to know that snooker is a far more aggressive game than what television appears to portray. The experience of going through intense emotional stress and tension for over ten hours and having kept it all bottled up, clearly created a pressure which needed to be released. Ebdon has a track record for initiating these outbursts and players like Steve Davis and John Parrott are convinced that it is with no other reason than to egg himself along.

In a match which dragged on boringly, Ebdon, who defeated Thailand's James Wattana 10-8 in the first round, showed great character and mental fortitude in the final session after being outclassed in almost every department of the game in the opening two sessions. ``That's what the best of 25 matches are all about. You can have one bad session and make up for it,'' the world no. 12 said afterwards.

He had used the same mental strengths and self-belief to win the Regal Scottish Open two weeks ago, but could be charged with the allegation of slowing down the game to a point where it started upsetting the opponent. Throughout the 25-frame contest, he seemed thoughtful, deliberate and used long intervals to play the next shot. These tactics were clearly resented by Lee, who went on record to say that he wished Ronnie O'Sullivan; Ebdon's quarterfinal opponent would defeat him.

It was not a contest, which rose to any heights. Sporadic break building was interspersed with long bouts of safety play with seven of the 25 frames played, lasting more than 30 minutes. Lee, who compiled a 121 in the opening frame, made the only century of the match.

Clearly, Lee played the better snooker in the match, reflected in his eight fifty plus breaks as compared to four breaks over fifty by Ebdon. Yet, Ebon scored over Lee in clinching the frames, which were scrappy. It was his ability to pot the vital balls during these frames, which helped in carving out his victory on Monday night.

If Stephen Hendry goes on to win his eighth world title, he will look back on his 13-5 victory over Paul Hunter, the games emerging new talents, as the point from where on he regained his confidence. The world no.3, having suffered a 19- month drought of tournament victories struck vintage form in the contest. Hendry's cue action, his calmness and his appetite for heavy scoring were all on display in his emphatic victory over the world no.14.

The seven times former world champion compiled breaks of 129 and 100 taking his total tally of tournament centuries to 533 and with a return to such ominous form has firmly reinstated himself as a strong contender for the title.

Patrick Wallace, a tall Irishman, who few had heard about when he arrived for his first round match against Alan McManus, is through to the quarterfinals - his best performance in any ranking tournament so far. The world no. 59 who won three qualifying matches in February this year has surprised himself by eliminating McManus and Mark King in the first and second rounds respectively, with such overwhelming ease. His 13-5 victory on Monday night was achieved with a sparkling display and an eight frame winning sequence. In terms of quality of play, Wallace was as impressive as any of the top seeds, runs of 64, 55, 104, 54, 48, 125, 57, 54, 71 & 50 providing the decisive proof of his capabilities.

In the quarter finals played over 25 frames, Mathew Stevens has established a morale boosting 6-2 advantage over Hendry while Ebdon and Ronnie O'Sullivan are tied with four frames a piece.

Second round results: Best of 25 frames: Peter Ebdon bt Stephen Lee 13-12. 17-131(121), 0-99(66), 50-13, 69(69)-20, 1-73, 67-24, 78(52)-10, 36-66(50), 54-79, 8-71(56), 6-51, 74-47, 66-37, 0-63, 50-71(53), 56-26, 57-16, 0-88(88), 69(52)-0, 62-23, 23-93, 64(60)-28, 72-46, 5-83(52), 72-30.

Stephen Hendry bt Paul Hunter 13-5. 0-96(92), 81-30, 71(71)-1, 129(129)-0, 44-90(62), 71(51)-36, 119(100)-7, 95(95)-0, 68-11, 0- 74(74), 84-52, 62(54)-22, 76(60)-13, 4-66(65), 66-6, 71- 30, 54(54)-74(74), 60-29.

Patrick Wallace bt Mark King 13-5. 69(64)-7, 0- 95(95), 76(55)- 46, 104(104)-12, 16-64(63), 0-84(73), 78(54)-44, 74-34, 54-41, 35-90(66), 33-73, 125(125)-0, 65(57)-62, 58-55, 76(54)-13, 77-39, 76(71)-0, 73(50)-17.

The quarterfinal line up: Joe Swail v/s Patrick Wallace; Ebdon v/s Lee; Hendry v/s Stevens; John Higgins v/s Ken Doherty.

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