Slip in the shower forces Maguire to pull out

Published on Wednesday 9 September 2009 22:56

STEPHEN Maguire has pulled out of the Shanghai Masters with a shoulder injury. The world No2 was due to face Barry Hawkins at the Grand Stage, but his withdrawal allows Hawkins a bye into the next round.

Maguire slipped in the shower at his Glasgow home last week, but hoped to be fit enough to compete in the season’s first world ranking event.

However, despite treatment from the Chinese football team’s doctor as well as acupuncture, Maguire opted to withdraw from the competition. “I am really gutted at having travelled all this way just to go back home without hitting a ball,” said Maguire. “I honestly thought it was nothing serious – but it’s obviously more serious than I first thought. The injury has been diagnosed as internal bleeding in a muscle. And it’s just too painful to play.”

In the early session yesterday, Shaun Murphy made light work of Michael Holt as the Sale potter won 5-1 to progress to the next round of the tournament. He was joined by Ding Junhui who overcame Stephen Lee by 5-2.

Ally Carter finally held off a spirited challenge from Tian Pengfei. Carter was two frames down but fought back to win 5-3, while Jamie Cope sneaked a 5-4 success over Joe Perry.

Ronnie O’Sullivan made a bright start to his campaign as he eliminated Graeme Dott without dropping a frame. The world No1 finished with a break of 101 as he won 5-0 against Scotland’s Dott, who had beaten United Arab Emirates potter Mohamed Shehab in the wild-card round.

There was an encouraging victory for Wales’ Matthew Stevens, who has struggled with his game in recent seasons and, like Dott, has fallen outside the elite top 16. Stevens proved too strong for World Championship semi-finalist Mark Allen, the Northern Irishman failing to get his game going and losing 5-2 to his more experienced opponent.

Next up for Stevens, who made two century breaks, will be an all-Welsh second-round clash against Ryan Day.

Mark Williams, another Welshman, gained a 5-3 win against Joe Swail in the final match of the day to finish.