BBC SPORT | OTHER SPORTS | Doherty's friendly fire

Ken Doherty set friendship aside to beat Fergal O'Brien in the quarter-finals of the Regal Welsh Open on Friday.

O'Brien is best friends with his fellow Irishman but Doherty forgot all that to win 5-3 and further his hopes of defending a ranking title for the first time in his career.

"I practise with Fergal a great deal and it's always hard playing someone you know so well," Doherty said.

"We're from the same town and because we're best friends off the table, it makes it more difficult on the table."

The pair have enjoyed long practice sessions at Jason's Snooker Club in the Dublin district of Ranelagh.

Doherty could catch O'Sullivan in the rankings

World number four Doherty, who has been successful five times in nine previous meetings with O'Brien, recovered from his opponent's run of 116 in the opening frame to build a 3-2 lead.

O'Brien fought back to 4-3 but Doherty seized his chance in the eighth to advance to the semi-finals.

Doherty is now guaranteed a cheque for �21,250 and earns some valuable ranking points as he attempts to catch Ronnie O'Sullivan at the head of the provisional rankings.

Doherty will meet Stephen Hendry in the semi-finals after the Scot provided further proof that he is back to his best with a 5-2 defeat of John Higgins.

Hendry, who ended a 27-month title drought by winning the European Open in Malta last month, was delighted with his display against his compatriot.

"It was one of those games when everything clicked into place together," he said.

"I played better than any match in Malta," he added.

Scotland's Graeme Dott became the first player to reach the semi-finals when he beat Joe Swail.

The 24-year-old whitewashed his opponent 5-0 to underline his confidence and current form.

Dott, who beat world number one Mark Williams in the last round, was always in control against Swail.

He said: "I played well yesterday but not as good as that. I was never bothered about losing the match at any stage. I didn't feel threatened at all."

No one's ever seen me play as well as I can

Graeme Dott

Dott believes his game has benefited from a recent weekend of work at the home of Ronnie O'Sullivan's coach Derek Hill.

Ranked 11th in the provisional world rankings prior to the event, Dott has now set his sights on a top-eight spot.

That would guarantee his entry to all of the game's premier invitation tournaments.

A 134 total clearance in the opening frame got Dott off to a flyer and eclipsed Ian McCulloch's 132 as front-runner for the �7,500 highest televised break award.

After that it was one-way traffic - and Dott warned there is still room for improvement.

"No one's ever seen me play as well as I can. I've been grinding out results but it hasn't been pretty," he said.

"I've been climbing up the rankings without being happy about my game. Now I just hope I can find some real form."

Dott now meets 1998 Regal Welsh champion Paul Hunter, whose love affair with the competition continued when he edged Peter Ebdon 5-4 to reach the semi-finals.

Hunter was a semi-finalist in the tournament at the age of 17 in 1996, won the title in 1998 and finished runner-up 12 months ago.

"I don't know what it is but I just seem to enjoy playing in Wales," Hunter said.

"Maybe it's because I've got quite a bit of support down here after winning it."


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