Jones stuns Murphy on world snooker championship debut

 　　SHEFFIELD, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Jamie Jones became the fourth qualifier to reach the second round of the snooker World Championship as he shocked world number 5 Shaun Murphy, winning 10-8.

　　It was a tremendous Crucible¹ debut² for young Welshman Jones as he continued the excellent form he has shown this season. The 24-year-old now meets Stephen Lee or Andrew Higginson.

　　Murphy, the 2005 world champion, was quickly out of the blocks Monday and knocked in a break of 73 to move into a 6-4 lead. Jones took a scrappy 11th before Murphy hit a 101 to move two clear again. World No 36 Jones kept pace by winning the frame before the interval³ to trail by only one.

　　Both players missed chances after the interval but Jones kept cool and levelled at 7-7 with a break of 38. Jones then took frame 15 with a superb effort of 136 to put him into the lead for the first time since frame three. He then won a long 37 minute 16th frame to put him on the verge⁴ of a massive upset.

　　And he looked to have the match won on a break of 47 in frame 17, only to miss an easy pot on the penultimate red. Murphy took advantage to close to within one frame.

　　Breaks of 32 and 26 put Jones in control of the 18th frame, and when he slotted home a long pot on the third-last red he had done enough.

　　"I've never felt pressure like that in my life," said Jones. "I started off yesterday and struggled to settle down and got into it by the end of the session. Today was a bit of a mixed bag, I was playing some great shots and missing some easy ones. I've never played an occasion like that in my life.

　　"I know how well I've been playing, I knew if I scored well then I could win. I was just happy to be here, I just went out there to enjoy it and enjoy the experience. To come out a winner is fantastic."

　　Meanwhile, Ronnie O'Sullivan opened up a substantial 7-2 lead over Peter Ebdon, and Matthew Stevens converted his overnight 8-1 lead into a comfortable 10-3 victory over Marco Fu of Hong Kong, China.

　　The match was tipped to be a tight one by many, with Ebdon in superb form having won the China Open a few weeks ago, but his game seemed to desert him on his return to the Crucible.

　　There was drama in the opening frame as it ended level on 64 points each, and after a lengthy⁵ exchange on the re-spotted black, it was eventually O'Sullivan who managed to win the tense affair with a thin cut on the black to a baulk corner.

　　Ebdon took the next frame, but then spent most of the session in his seat as three-time world champion O'Sullivan rattled⁶ off six consecutive⁷ frames to establish a commanding lead. The run commenced in style with a 103 from the Rocket, and then a combination of solid break building and errors from his opponent allowed him to pull away.

　　Ebdon finally stopped the rot in the last frame of the session when he compiled his biggest break of the match, 90. But he has an uphill task tomorrow to get back into the match.

　　The pair will return to the table at 2:30pm local time with O'Sullivan needing just three more frames for victory.

　　Also on Monday, Fu produced a break of 65 to win the opening frame of the session. He followed that up with a break of 58 in the next but broke down and Stevens made 40 and 23 to move to within one frame of the win at 9-2.

　　Fu, the 2006 semi-finalist, got his third frame on the board with a 51, but two time Crucible finalist Stevens secured victory in frame 13 and will now play either world number 1 Mark Selby or Barry Hawkins.

　　"It's the first time for about five or six years I've reached the second round. It's always nice to come back as a seeded player but draws don't get any easier, Marco's a former top 8 player, it was always going to be tough. But he struggled a lot this morning and helped me along a bit, I felt comfortable and I'm glad to get a win," said Stevens.

　　Fu said: "I'm really disappointed, the way I was playing in practice wasn't that great, but it was nothing like as bad as this morning, it was surprising playing so badly this morning. I'm still capable but there's a lot of work to do over the summer.

　　"I just couldn't get any rhythm. Matthew is a very good front runner, I let him have too many chances. He played very well but I helped him to play well."

1 crucible   

n.坩锅，严酷的考验

参考例句：

• The alliance had been forged in the crucible of war.这个联盟经受了战争的严峻考验。
• Put the required amount of metal into the crucible.把适量的金属放入坩埚。

2 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

3 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

4 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

5 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

6 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

7 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。