Noppon Saengkham downs Jamie Jones to reach British Open semis, Ryan Day beats Yuan Sijun

Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham edged a 5-3 battle with Jamie Jones to reach the British Open semi-finals, while Ryan Day defeated Yuan SiJun.

In the first frame Jones was 13-0 up but Saengkham replied with a strong break to go 65-13 up, before then adding another nine with a follow-up visit to take the frame.

The Thai then went further with his next break, hitting an unanswered 89 to go two up, but his opponent scrapped to a 64-26 third frame win.

Noppon had beaten Jordan Brown 4-0 in the last round while Jones was coming off a victory over Ben Woolaston.

In the fourth frame, a long range shot moved Jones back into the game, trailing 41-24 and starting to build a break to reach 72 and go level as the pair went into the interval.

A wonderful 102 break pushed Saengkham back in front, two frames from victory, only to be pulled back level to 3-3.

Some extended safety play broke Saengkham’s way with a break of 63 moving him a frame from victory, completing the win with a 69-18 eighth frame.

Speaking after his win, he admitted that at the interval he, “was nervous. I can’t control my hand, very pressured,” and he was looking forward to a “more relaxed” outing in his next match.

He will face Mark Allen in the semi-finals.

In the evening’s other match, Ryan Day and Yuan Sijun both batted hard as they tried to reach the semi-finals for the chance to play Robbie Williams.

The pair dropped four half-centuries to move to 2-2, before two more frames left the match at 3-3. A 50 break from Day moved him ahead briefly before SiJun once again levelled for a decisive final frame.

Day had saved the best until last with a 124 break moved him to a 5-4 victory.

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