Ding Junhui once again exhibited a petulant streak in losing 5-1 to Graeme Dott at the Shanghai Masters yesterday.
His rash swipe at the cueball when he broke down on 73 with a maximum on in the fifth frame could have been interpreted as a concession.
You’ll recall Ding tried to concede the Saga Masters final at Wembley last January after falling 9-3 behind as Ronnie produced a sublime spell of play. Put simply, Ding hasn’t been the same player since.
He seems to lose heart when things go wrong and this can’t bode well for the future. Snooker, like any sport, is full of highs and lows. Dealing with each is key to success.
Can he turn things round?
Of course. It’s worth remembering he’s already won three ranking titles and he’s still only 20.
Will he turn things round?
Only time will tell.
2 comments:
These are more than valid questions.
The problems Ding has aren't cultural so they are weaknesses in his character.
I doubt he will ever completely overcome them.What he has to do is learn to deal with them differently.
I wish him luck.
I thoroughly enjoyed the final frame between Dott and Lee today-it was terrific entertainment.Dott is even more adventurous in this tournament and I think this approach will bring him more titles .
DJ
Hello David
That is a good a point with Ding Jun Hui, it is great that we have two major events in the Far East again as he had back in the early 1990's promting the wonderful game.
But, as it was then due to the success of James Wattana it is due to the recent achievements of Ding Jun Hui - China Open champion in 2005 as an 18 year old.
In order to promote the game, his actions as per the Masters final against Ronnie O'Sullivan and an absolute dour performance against Jamie Cope the following month at Newport, his attitude need to be addressed.
I re-collect that in one frame yesterday against Graeme Dott, I think it was the fourth he played a shot smashing into the pack of reds we'd associate with Quinten Hann.
Like you David, I think he still hasn't recovered from the onslaught from Ronnie at the Wembley Masters in January but, in order to progress to the next level - World Champion he is ghoing to have to build on these disappointments otherwise the younger guns like Judd Trump are going to overtake him in the coming years and scoop the silverware and the lucrative prizemoney.
Ryan
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