Snooker star outguns Bond

The Bexhill potter came from 2-0 down to win 5-3 against Nigel Bond in the penultimate round of the Wuxi Classic Qualifiers at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield.

Robertson went into the match having whitewashed Thai player Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-0 in the previous round yesterday, but got off to a slow start with Bond winning the first two frames fairly comfortably.

But world no.55 Robertson opened his account courtesy of a 106 break in the third and levelled the contest at the interval by also winning the fourth in a single visit.

Robertson clinched the first frame after the resumption despite Bond threatening a comeback to go ahead for the first time at 3-2 and he made it four in a row by pulling away to capture frame six.

World no.45 Bond stopped the rot with a half-century in the next to stay alive at 4-3 and scored the first 17 points of frame eight only for Robertson to reply with a 64 to go 47 ahead with 43 on.

Bond clawed his way back to 26 adrift with 22 on, but Robertson crucially potted the brown to go 30 ahead with 18 available. Bond potted the blue and got a snooker on the pink before Robertson eventually got over the line.

Robertson will now play 22nd-ranked Barry Hawkins in the final round tomorrow (Friday) morning. St Leonards-based world no.19 Mark Davis will make his bow in the competition tomorrow morning against Rory McLeod.