REIGNING Ladbrokes World Darts Champion Adrian Lewis ended the hopes of Robert Thornton with a hard fought 4-2 victory in the second round of the £1 million tournament on Thursday night.Lewis followed up last week's hard-fought win over Nigel Heydon with another gritty display to see off the Scot, who hit back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to level before the Stoke ace won six of the final eight legs to triumph.
Thornton had chances to force a deciding set, but three missed attempts at double 14 proved costly as Lewis closed out the match to claim a place in the last 16.
"I'm frustrated with my performance tonight but I'm still there fighting to retain my title," admitted Lewis. "I was preparing myself for a deciding set when Robert was throwing at double 14, but when the chance came my way I took it.
"I know that I need to improve and I'll get back on the practice board and put the hard work in before I play Wayne Jones, even on Christmas Day."
Lewis, who survived a titanic five-set tussle against Nigel Heydon in the first round a week ago, won the opening leg of the contest on double four before hitting double top to win the next two legs and secure the opening set.
The Scotsman hit double six to make a winning start to set two and then broke Lewis' throw with the aid of an 80 finish.
The third leg saw Thornton leave 80 after 12 darts, but Lewis took it with a sensational 170 checkout - the first of the tournament - before taking the next on double top.
The deciding leg saw Thornton fire in a third 180, and he landed double ten with his third dart to level the match.
Lewis hit a 100 checkout to make a winning start to the third set before Thornton hit back to take the second with a 68 finish.
The Stoke star took the third by landing double top at the first attempt, and won the set on double nine, after Thornton missed the bullseye for a 161 checkout.
Thornton, who defeated Stoke's Ian White in his opening match, held throw at the start of the fourth set, defying a 180 from his opponent.
The Scotsman then broke throw with a clinical two-dart 87 finish, and followed that by hitting double 16 in the next to leave the match finely balanced at two apiece.
The fifth set started with Lewis hitting double ten to hold throw, and he also took the second after Thornton was guilty of missing three darts at doubles.
Lewis hit double top to take the set and lead for the third time in the match, before hitting a 180 at the beginning of set six.
Thornton won the leg despite Lewis' maximum and then hit an excellent 121 checkout, completed on the bullseye, to break throw.
Lewis immediately broke back with a 64 finish and then took out 83 to claim the fourth leg and go one leg away from victory.
A dramatic deciding leg saw Thornton miss three crucial darts at double 14 to force a seventh set, and Lewis landed double five, with a pressure third dart, to close out the match.
"I've practised my finishing all week and it's been going alright until that double 14!" said Thornton, who was sidelined for a month in the autumn after being struck down with pneumonia.
"It was tit for tat in the first four sets and Adrian knows I'm a fighter. I can hold my head up high and say that's probably the best darts I've played for a while, and I pushed the World Champion hard."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.