Martyn Desperques (right) with Shaun Murphy at Fort Regent. (0597365)
MARTYN DESPERQUES took a frame off former world champion Shaun Murphy at the World Series of Snooker in Jersey at the weekend.
Playing in surroundings that are second nature to world number three Murphy, the island individual league champion Desperques found himself thrust before a crowd of 120 at Fort Regent. Desperques also had to contend with two cameras constantly moving to find the best shot as the match was broadcast live by Eurosport for its Asian audience.
‘It all went well and more than anything it was excellent to have the opportunity to take a frame off him. It was a little bit disappointing because I didn’t play to my full potential, but it was the first time I’d played in an arena like that.’
The Sarnian won the opening frame before the 2005 world champion hit his stride to claim the next four and the match. ‘Martyn did really well considering the situation was so different to anything that he’s come across before,’ said Guernsey Snooker Association vice-president Martin Robert, who went to watch Desperques.
‘I thought he coped really well and he tried his best to play his own game. Martyn was disappointed but he didn’t disgrace himself at all. He deserved the frame that he got.’
Desperques made the first impression in the opening frame with a break of 36 helping him to establish a 43-13 lead.
Professional Murphy hit back, but a break of 24 sealed a 67-42 frame win for Desperques.
The Guernseyman was not finished there either.
Murphy’s opening 41 in the second frame finished with a safety that had Desperques in trouble.
But his return safety was even better, acknowledged by Murphy’s tap on the table and a mistake that allowed Desperques in with a 38.
However, from that point on Murphy gradually imposed his class on the table as he ran out 80-38 winner of the second, which he followed up by taking the third and fourth frames to open a 3-1 lead.
The former Crucible champion’s uncharacteristic miss early in the fifth let Desperques in with a rare opportunity, but an equally unusual miscue handed the chance straight back to Murphy.
His silky smooth action conjured a marvellous 94 break being only denied a century by a thunderous kick that sealed a 4-1 win and an end to the local man’s first taste of the snooker high life.
In the other matches, Jersey champion Aaron Canavan and Poland’s Rafal Jewtuch both failed to take a frame off respective professionals John Higgins and Mark Selby,
but Jersey’s Gary Britton sent Ken Doherty packing with a shock 4-1 win.
Higgins won the event by beating Selby 6–3 in the final.
Article posted on 24th June, 2008 - 2.29pm
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