The second semi-final of the Shanghai Masters promises to be one of the matches of the season so far as the defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan looks to make another final when he takes on Neil Robertson in a race to 10 frames.
Both these men have battled hard to make it through to this stage and with the format extending they will hope their best snooker comes to the fore now. Robertson will be all too aware that it has to if he’s going to win.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
The defending champion could have been forgiven for thinking that his title defence was over in the quarter final when he trailed Kyren Wilson 5-1 but to his credit he never gave up the ghost and came through to win. We should acknowledge that he was helped out by his opponent along the way, but one of the reasons for that was because O’Sullivan still showed belief that he could get back into the match and win it.
Prior to that we saw the Rocket scoring very nicely indeed and while he wasn’t at his brilliant best in the last eight, you sense he’s on a bit of a free roll from here on in and with that in mind he could be very dangerous for the remainder of the tournament. Considering this is his first tournament of the season, his standard has been excellent and his temperament has been impeccable.
Neil Robertson
It could be that the form man of the tournament so far has been Neil Robertson. Nobody can argue that he hasn’t earned his place in this semi-final as he has beaten two very strong opponents in Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins to reach this stage. He dispatched both with relative ease you would have to say and so he should be full of confidence heading into this semi-final, even though he knows the size of the task in front of him.
The thing I like about Robertson in this match up is that unlike some players he isn’t beaten by O’Sullivan before a ball is hit. If he loses to the Rocket it is because O’Sullivan is the better player on the day. He’s sure to give this one a good go as he continues his good early season form. He’ll need to score lights out to win here you fancy.
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Head-to-Head
These two have faced off on 26 previous occasions with O’Sullivan coming out on top 17 times to the eight of Robertson. They have also had a draw in the Premier League. These two met in two finals last term which O’Sullivan won on both occasions but their Tour Championship final was a great match which the Rocket won 13-11. That was the latest of a run of four successive wins for O’Sullivan. When we look at the frame count he leads 135-105 and he also holds a 3-1 lead over the Australian in their previous semi-final battles.
Betting
It might just be that Ronnie O’Sullivan has had his scare in this tournament and now he will knuckle down and bring his best game. If he does do that then he is still of sufficient enough quality that he wins. We saw that in the Tour Championship final last year and in the Players Championship final before it.
Robertson has been very assured this week but taking on O’Sullivan remains a tough task and I’m still not quite certain the safety of the Australian is up to the task, particularly over this longer distance. O’Sullivan might have lost a bit of focus in the quarter final after not being tested in his first match. He should have got that back and if he has he has it in him to not only win this but to do it no worse than 10-8.
Tips
WON – Back R.O’Sullivan (-1.5 frames) for a 4/10 stake at 1.75 with 888sport
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