Ladies World.....
HAMPSHIRE
golden girl Suzie Opacic’s bid to win the women’s world championship ended
in a “frustrating” last-16 defeat.
The
23-year-old from Brambridge progressed from the group stages at Cambridge
Snooker Centre but lost 3-2 to Eva Palmius (Cambs) in the first knockout round.
“It
was a frustrating game,” said the world number 16, who is sponsored by Kara
Accountants.
“My
cue arm totally tightened up and I know if I’d played my practice game I’d
have won. Eva is a good match player and really grinds you down.
“I
was disappointed to lose 3-2 as I’d hoped to get to the quarter-finals.
“The
frames were scrappy and both of us were missing balls under pressure. Eva was
able to capitalise on her chances in the last frame and her matchplay was solid,
which saw her through.”
Opacic
finished third in her round-robin group after seeing off number four seed Vicky
Carter (Beds) 3-0, Martina Lumsden (Eastbourne) 2-1 and Maureen Rowland (Wallsend)
3-0.
She
lost 2-1 to Ng On Yee (Hong Kong) and 3-0 to Jaique Ip Wan In (Hong Kong).
“I
was happy with finishing third in the group but I would’ve liked to have
beaten one of the Chinese players,” said Opacic, who turns out for Super
League outfit Park Gate RBL A in the Southampton & District Social Clubs
League.
“They
appear to have the backing of national sports federations and sponsors, which is
missing from the UK ladies game.”
Reanne
Evans beat Maria Catalano 5-3 in the final to secure her eighth successive world
title.
_____________________________
HAMPSHIRE’S
Suzie Opacic declared it was “good to be back” on the women’s snooker
circuit after her ‘gap year’.
After
so long out of the game, it was no surprise that Opacic was beaten 3-0 by Vicky
Carter (Hemel Hempstead) in the first round of the UK Championship at Woking
Snooker Centre.
And
the 23-year-old from Brambridge also lost 2-0 to Carter in the under-40 Shield
final and 2-1 to Jan Hughes (St Neots, Cambs) in the first round of the Plate.
Opacic
said: “It was good to be back on the circuit playing competitive snooker after
18 months out.
“I
was disappointed with my game on the day but I’m feeling more motivated after
a break and can hopefully start getting some results in the next few
tournaments.”
Opacic
had slipped from a high of sixth to 14th on the World Ladies Billiards &
Snooker Association rankings after taking a year out to study for a masters
degree in development planning at the University of Reading.
Carter,
who was ranked eight places lower than Opacic at the end of the 2009/10 season,
was naturally delighted.
“I
was quite pleased to beat Suzie 3-0 and then 2-0,” she said.
Waterside-based
Kara Accountants have renewed their sponsorship of the former World Ladies
Junior Champion, who turns out for Super League outfit Park Gate RBL A in the
Southampton league.
Portsmouth’s
Emma Bonney lost 3-2 in the final to world number one Reanne Evans.