Ashley Carty punished for slow start at Scottish Open

The Rotherham player slipped to a 4-2 defeat against Jackson Page in the second round of the Scottish Open as his tricky start to the season continued.

Carty, the world No 96, struggles to come out of the blocks quickly and reckons he’s always on the verge of the lengthy journey home.

The 25-year-old said: “I got off to a really bad start and full credit to Jackson, he took his chances well.

“I thought I was going to be on the M1 after about 20 minutes!

“I don’t know what it was. On the practice table before the game I felt brilliant.

“I’ve been having a couple of slow starts this season and last season, so it’s something I’m trying to find out why. Normally when I do get a good start I go on to win the game quite a few times.

“Last season, and the start of this season, I’m going 2-0 down quite a lot of time and against these kind of players you just can’t do it.

“It’s something I’m trying to work on. Maybe I’m just putting too much pressure on myself trying to get off to a good start instead of being relaxed.”

Carty knocked in breaks of 74 and 70 but visits of 106, 90 and 76 from 19-year-old Page hauled him over the line.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, York’s Ashley Hugill went down 4-1 against world No.46 Robert Milkins while Sheffield-based Ding Junhui beat Andy Hicks 4-2.

*Watch the Scottish Open live on Eurosport, Eurosport app, and stream on discovery+

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