World Snooker Championship
Date: 18 April-4 May Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
Coverage: Live coverage each day on BBC Two, BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website (UK only), updates on BBC Radio 5 Live.
 Day is just two frames from making the quarter-finals |
Ryan Day edged closer to the quarter-finals of the World Championship as he dominated the middle session to stretch his lead to 11-5 against Nigel Bond. Leading 6-2, the Welshman started the night with a free-flowing 91 and a sparkling break of 134 soon followed. Bond stopped the rot with a 49 to trail 9-3, but Day's safety play held firm in the next to help him go further ahead. A 92 helped Bond's cause before Day took the next, and the veteran won the last to give his faint chances a boost. Bond, who lost the 1995 World Championship final to Stephen Hendry, started the third session badly with an easy miss on the black. The 29-year-old Day picked up where he left off on Friday morning and grabbed a fine break of 91 to secure a 7-2 lead. The 10th frame saw both players exchanging a series of clever safety shots but Day held his nerve to sink an excellent red and win his fifth in succession. Derbyshire's top potter was looking increasingly disconsolate, as Day seemed to be fully refreshed after spending the afternoon between sessions on the golf course.  | 606: DEBATE |
He cruised to a fine break of 134, but Bond was not giving up too easily as a 49 eased his worries a little to trail 9-3. The 15-minute interval seemed to breathe life into Bond's game but despite a useful 46, he fell out of position to let in Day, who won the frame with a break of 27. Bond continued to battle on and a knock of 92 ensured the match would see another day as the pair shared the final two frames ahead of Saturday's finale. The winner will meet Ronnie O'Sullivan or Mark Allen in the quarters. Shaun Murphy , having to contend with the prospect of his wife serving divorce papers during the tournament, also had to deal with some spectators booing him at the start of his tie against Marco Fu . The former world champion used to have strong support at The Crucible, having lived near Sheffield for a few years, but his marriage problems and a move to Sale seems to have upset some fans. Murphy seemed fully focused on his snooker, though, and was in cruise-control throughout most of his opening session on Friday. The 26-year-old was on course for a 142 break in the opener but he missed the yellow and had to settle for a 115. Fu, a semi-finalist in 2006, struck back with a 58 in the second but he will have been very disappointed to see the frame slip away with Murphy battling for everything. The Hong Kong cueman did not look too disheartened, though, and breaks of 47 and 60 helped him get one frame back. That, however, was to be the only frame he won thanks to Murphy's consistent potting power and Fu's continual struggle to find the middle of the pocket. Murphy stretched his lead to two with a scrappy fourth, and breaks of 73 and 77 before edging through two scrappy frames at the end concluded a very satisfying session for a man with much on his mind.
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