Sport

O'Brien brushes Wattana aside

Fergal O'Brien qualified for his first quarter-final of the season with a 5-0 whitewash of Thailand's James Wattana in the third…

Fri Jan 28 2000 - 00:00

Fergal O'Brien qualified for his first quarter-final of the season with a 5-0 whitewash of Thailand's James Wattana in the third round of the Welsh Open in Cardiff yesterday

"I've worked hard so far without getting the right results," said O'Brien. "So, even though this scoreline probably flattered me, I will take it."

Last night, though, Ken Doherty, made his exit as he was eliminated by Peter Ebdon 5-4. Also sent packing was Ronnie O'Sullivan, who went under to Jimmy White.

John Higgins, meanwhile, is the sole surviving member of the top four to take his allotted place in the draw. "The rankings are always at the back of your mind," admitted Higgins after ending the giant-killing run of 19-year-old Welsh prospect Ryan Day.

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Earlier, Mark Williams lost his grip on the title, going down 5-4 to fellow Welshman Matthew Stevens, who compiled an imperious break of 98 to clinch the decider after being 4-3 down.

Third round: F O'Brien (Irl) bt J Wattana (Tha) 5-0, B Jones (Eng) bt D Henry (Sco) 5-0, I McCulloch (Eng) bt M Fu (Hkg) 5-2, M Stevens (Wal) bt M Williams (Wal) 5-4, J Higgins (Sco) bt R Day (Wal) 5-1, J White (Eng) bt R O'Sullivan (Eng) 5-2, S Lee (Eng) bt P Hunter (Eng) 5-4, P Ebdon (Eng) bt K Doherty (Ire) 5-4.

Motorsport: Arrows yesterday unveiled their new car at Silverstone and revealed Jos Verstappen will drive for them next season alongside Pedro de la Rosa.

Dutchman Verstappen, who started his Formula One career with Benetton in 1994, drove for Arrows in 1996 before switching to Tyrell the following year and from there joined Stewart.

Athletics: World indoor 60 metres record holder Irina Privalova finished second in her first international appearance over hurdles yesterday.

She was one-tenth of a second behind Russian champion Yulia Graudyn at an indoor meeting in Moscow. Graudyn clocked 8.06 seconds. European champion Svetla Dimitrova of Bulgaria was a disappointing fifth in 8.27.

Russian shot putter Larisa Peleshenko returned to competition at the meeting after a twoyear doping ban to set a world best mark for the season of 20.36 metres. Former Olympic champion Svetlana Kriveleva was a distant second with 19.45.