German Masters 2023: Ali Carter takes commanding 6-3 lead over Tom Ford in first session of final

Ali Carter assumed control of the German Masters final after the first session, charging into a 6-3 lead over Tom Ford.

Ford made a bright start to the match, winning the opening two frames, but Carter kept calm and grew into the contest at the Tempodrom.

Carter had won all three previous meetings with Ford, while he also had the big-match experience from being a four-time ranking-event winner – and a German Masters champion 10 years ago.

In contrast, Ford came into the match without a title to his name and he seemed to wilt under the pressure of the occasion.

Ford has a chance to regroup ahead of the evening session, but faces a mountain to climb in the race to 10.

Ford potted the first ball of the match, but missed a tough black with the rest one shot later. He got a second bite though and from there did not make a mistake, racing through a break of 121 to open his account.

Carter got going for the first time in the match in the second frame and crafted an excellent 64. He took some time over frame-ball red, unsure if it would go to the bottom right. He took it on, but it did not drop.

A counter of 41 from Ford took it down to the colours. Carter went for a long double of a green, but it missed and Ford knocked in excellent pots on brown and blue to steal the second.

For the first time in the match Ford showed some frailty, as he missed a black off its spot in the third and Carter made him pay with a run of 69.

Ford got in first in the fourth, but missed a black when well set and Carter capitalised to draw level at 2-2.

Carter continued his forward push after the interval by taking the fifth. An excellent 57 put him in a strong position, and a worry for Ford – who had been starved of table time – was that he hit the wrong side of a red when attempting a pot as he fell behind for the first time in the match.

There were clear signs of concern for Ford, and they multiplied in the sixth. He played a superb safety to craft a chance and picked off a break of 53, but failed to close out the frame.

Carter got back in it with a 31 and then won a safety battle before getting in and clearing to the blue to secure his fourth frame on the spin.

Ford’s woes continued in the seventh. He knocked in a fine red from distance, but missed the following black. His error handed the table to Carter and he ran through a break of 73 to extend his advantage to three frames.

Carter preyed on Ford’s mistakes, and another one came along in the eighth – a simple missed red. Ford returned to his chair with a resigned look on his face, and it proved a costly error as Carter made a 120 clearance – his eighth ton of the tournament – to turn the screw even tighter at 6-2 up.

A roar of approval from the Berlin crowd greeted a fine pot from Ford in the closing frame of the session, with the spectators clearly keen for a tight final.

Ford made a good break of 50, but he failed to develop the cluster and had to retreat to the safety of baulk.

Following a safety battle, a bigger roar greeted a huge fluked red to the right middle for Ford. Despite the advantage and with Carter needing snookers, it took Ford some time to close it out but he fell over the line to give himself a glimmer of hope ahead of the second session later in the evening.

– – –