Carter dumped out of Snooker championships by McManus

SHEFFIELD: Two-time snooker World Championship finalist Ali Carter crashed out in the last 16 to Alan McManus 13-11 on Saturday, after letting a 9-7 overnight lead slip.

The 45-year-old Scot McManus reeled off four frames in a row before closing out the victory, with Carter furious about the conditions at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

“The conditions were absolutely horrific – there were kicks every other shot and big bounces,” he said.

“I don’t think I’ve played on a table that bad in my career. It’s the same for both players but it’s how it affects you mentally.

“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong and I was powerless to stop it. I said to Peter (Ebdon) during the interval that I just wanted to smash the whole place up and go home – that’s how frustrated I was.”

McManus said he understood why Carter was upset, but the 1994 Masters champion is now just one win away from reaching the semi-finals in Sheffield for the first time in 23 years.

“I could sense (Carter’s frustration) and I could understand why, with the conditions being quite trying out there on our table,” said McManus, the oldest player left in the tournament.

Two-time champion Mark Williams is also through to the last eight, after seeing off England’s Michael Holt 13-8.

The Welshman, who won the title in 2000 and 2003, has had something of a resurgence this year after dropping out of the world’s top 16 and failing to reach the second round three years in a row.

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s quest for a sixth world title hit a slight bump on Saturday, as Barry Hawkins reeled off three straights frames to take a 5-3 lead after the first session.

O’Sullivan struck two fluent centuries to move ahead, but 2013 runner-up Hawkins fought back to take control after a high-quality start to the contest.

-AFP

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