England’s Kyren Wilson on Saturday cruised into his second World Snooker Championship final and revealed his success at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre has been helped by sessions with a hypnotherapist.
Wilson claimed a 17-11 victory against qualifier David Gilbert after taking three of the four frames in the third session to wrap up his semi-final that earned him another shot at the world title after his defeat in the 2020 final against Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Afterward, the 32-year-old world No. 12 said he has been boosted by seeing a hypnotherapist during his run to the final.
Photo: AP
“It’s just about emptying your stress bucket,” Wilson said. “We all have things going on that can affect our day-to-day life, and it allowed me to go out there and be a little bit freer.
“Our minds are so clogged up with so many different things that don’t need to be there, so if you can just eliminate them and go out and play snooker it makes the game a hell of a lot easier.”
In the final, which started yesterday and ends today, Wilson is facing 30-year-old Jak Jones after the Welshman became the first qualifier to reach the title match since Ding Junhui in 2016.
Jones, ranked 44 in the world, defeated Stuart Bingham 17-12 in his semi-final.
“When I think of watching the World Championship final every year, thinking it’s a dream and what an unbelievable occasion it is, it doesn’t really feel real that I’m in that World final,” Jones told the BBC. “But I am, and I couldn’t be any happier.”
Alexander Zverev on Wednesday reached his 18th ATP Masters semi-final in Rome, but only after a worrying fall which sparked memories of the horror injury he had at the French Open two years ago. The world No. 5 from Germany defeated Taylor Fritz of the US 6-4, 6-3 in Italian Open to set up a last-four duel with Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean journeyman who had stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Zverev’s moment of concern came in just the third game on center court at the Foro Italico when he fell on the clay and landed on his
Andre de Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, and many other top-class international athletes are to showcase their talent in Taipei at the Taiwan Athletics Open early next month, according to the event’s official Web site. The Canadian sprinter, who clocked 19.62 seconds to top the podium in Tokyo in 2021, is to compete at the Taipei Stadium after the two-day event was upgraded to a leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour. The elevated status of the Taiwan Athletics Open means participants can earn more ranking points, making it possible for the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA), the
Novak Djokovic on Sunday described his shock third-round elimination from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia by Alejandro Tabilo as “concerning,” two days after he was hit on the head by a bottle, which he said has caused nausea and dizzy spells. Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title was ended in just more than an hour by Chilean Tabilo, who is ranked 32nd in the world and claimed his first win over a top-10 opponent, 6-2, 6-3. The 24-time Grand Slam winner said that his subdued performance on a court where he has won six titles might have been due to
The Hsinchu Titans yesterday made a strong start in Group A of the Taiwan Premier League in Taipei, winning two games as the 10-team T20 competition began at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground. Chetan Sharma scored 57 from 30 deliveries in the morning match as the Titans made 178-7 against the Taipei Indians, who helped their opponents’ cause with 26 extras. Pramod Mandal took 3-11 as the Indians struggled to 126-8 in reply. The Taipei Stallions posed a greater hurdle to the Titans in the afternoon match, posting 163-7 after choosing to bat first. Hassaan Samad smashed 77 from 44 with seven fours and six