Perry pleased with Welsh Open semi final run

Chatteris snooker star Joe Perry enjoyed an impressive run to the semi final of the Welsh Open.

Perry won five matches, including a stunning 5-1 triumph over Mark Selby, before losing 6-4 to Ding Junhui, who has picked up four tournament wins this season, in a hard fought contest on Saturday.

He beat Allan Taylor 4-3 in the 1st round, crushed Liu Chiang 4-0 in the 2nd round, beat home favourite Matthew Stevens 4-3 in the 3rd round, saw off Stuart Bingham 4-3 in the last 16 and thrashed 2008 champion Selby in the quarter-final.

Ronnie O’Sullivan won the tournament, sealing a 9-3 win over Ding with a 147 in the final frame.

Perry said: “I’m really pleased with how the week went. I played well in pretty much every match, which was necessary because there were some tough, close matches.

“I’m disappointed that I fell a bit short in the semi final but I still played well. I just missed a couple of key shots that swung the match his way.”

Perry was particularly pleased with his performance in his win over Selby.

He said: “Mark (Selby) is someone I have a lot of respect for. He has achieved so much in this game.

“We practice together now and then. I feel comfortable playing against him and have got the better of him a few times.”

Perry is in action in the Championship League later this week and then flies to China for the World Open before his attention turns to April’s World Championships.