World number four Ding Junhui believes Saturday’s World Grand Prix semi-final clash with Mark Selby will prove tough but admits he has been pleased with his performances. The 30-year-old came through a tough battle with world number 16 Anthony McGill in their quarter-final clash on Friday to triumph 5-3 and book his place in the last four.\
McGill and Ding shared the opening six frames before Ding’s class came to the fore and he powered on to reach his first semi-final since winning the Yushan World Open in September. Saturday’s tie looks likely to prove much more difficult when he goes up against world number one Selby at Preston’s Guild Hall. Selby looked much more comfortable in his quarter-final outing as he dispatched Michael White 5-2 in Lancashire.
Ding, who is priced at 13/2 to win the World Grand Prix, admits he has been pleased with his form in the early stages of 2018 and insists it would be perfect to claim his first tournament win of the Chinese New Year. “Everything has been good this week, I have been winning matches with good performances,” said Ding. “It will be very tough against Selby, I will just try to play well. If I could win the first tournament of the Chinese New Year that would be great.”
Ding can be backed at 11/10 to come out on top in Saturday’s semi-final clash, while Selby is priced at 7/10 to triumph.