Davis snatches win from jaws of defeat
The St Leonards cueman was 4-3 down in the best of nine frames first round clash and needed snookers in the eighth, but drew on all his reserves to pull off a 5-4 victory.
Davis, the world number 16, took the opening frame 70-37 thanks to a break of 66 only for 73rd-ranked Davison - playing in the last 32 of a full ranking event for only the second time - bagged the second 128-5 with a 112.
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Hide AdA 55 helped give Davis the third 80-0, but he lost the fourth 73-51 despite a top run of 36 to his opponent’s 28. An opening 61 gave Davison the fifth 70-46 even though Davis came back with a 43 and the lead for the first time.
Although Davis restored parity again at 3-3 by claiming the sixth 104-4 with all his points coming in a single visit, Davison fashioned his second century of the match with a 124 to grab the seventh 130-0.
Davison stood on the cusp of victory when he led 60-20 in the eighth with only 35 points on the table. Davis refused to lie down, however, and clawed his way back into it on the colours before laying a snooker on the pink and clearing the last two balls to snatch the frame 61-60.
Davis was again in trouble in the decider when he trailed 49-10 before rallying to take it 58-50 on the pink. His opponent in the last 16 tomorrow will be Alfie Burden, who won 5-2 in a high quality match against Michael Holt with top breaks of 136, 53, 66 and 68.