World number one Mark Selby became the latest seed to be eliminated from the World Championship after a 10-3 defeat by Barry Hawkins.
Selby was 6-3 down after the first session, and failed to add to his tally in the second to become the eighth seed to go out in the first round.
He had little practice entering the tournament after a suffering a neck injury at the China Open .
Selby, 28, said: "There were certain shots I couldn't physically play."
He added: "I was trying my best out there but I didn't have the strength and the power.
"I'm happy that I managed to play because 10 days ago I was looking at pulling out."
Selby could find no rhythm against a determined Hawkins, the world number 22, who was at his ruthless best to eliminate the 2007 runner-up.
Resuming three frames behind, Selby required snookers in each of the first two frames of the evening session.
But he looked on helplessly as his opponent raced into an 8-3 lead, before the 33-year-old from Kent confirmed his place in the second round inside two hours.
Earlier, the first four frames of the match each featured half-century breaks, three of them by left-hander Hawkins.
In an eighth frame lasting almost an hour, Selby battled to secure three of the four snookers he required, but Hawkins kept his nerve.
When Selby again failed to capitalise, Hawkins never looked back after sweeping into a commanding three-frame lead.
No comments:
Post a Comment