Missed chances see Leeds potter David Grace exit English Open

Grace was the last Yorkshireman standing at EventCity, Manchester but ended up going down 4-1 to Barry Hawkins at the last-32 stage.

The Leeds cueman made a break of 71 to level the match at 1-1 but Hawkins promptly compiled three half-centuries to book himself a spot in the last 16.

Grace had already beaten Dominic Dale 4-2 and Andrew Higginson 4-3 in Manchester but acknowledged he wasn’t quite at his best when it mattered most in round three.

“I don’t feel like I played that badly but I didn’t punish him for any of his mistakes,” explained Grace.

“I’ve played pretty well this week. They have been tough, close matches – I missed a good chance for a clearance to move to 3-2 against Barry and that was the sort of clearance I was making earlier in the week.

“I made a good clearance to beat Dominic Dale and I was lucky to come through my second-round match against Andrew [Higginson] on Wednesday – I was hanging on.

“I’ve been winning a lot of matches this season, so I was feeling good coming into the event but it just wasn’t quite there against Barry.”

Grace currently sits at number 55 in the world but has had some promising results this campaign, including an impressive run to the Paul Hunter Classic quarter-finals back in August.

The 31-year-old made his big breakthrough at the UK Championship last November – shocking the snooker world to reach the semi-finals of the triple crown event – and despite defeat at the English Open, he has no complaints about his current position.

“I’m feeling good compared to where I was 12 months ago,” added Grace. “It’s a different world to where I was before last year’s UK Championship – I’m winning matches now and competing against top players.

“The best way to get momentum is to just keep playing in tournaments. I’ve got a couple of days at home now before I go to China for the next events, so bring it on!”

Watch the English Open LIVE on Eurosport 1 and Quest, featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.