Davis run ended by Selby

Having won three matches, one of which was against four-time world champion John Higgins, the St Leonards cueman was eventually seen off 9-4 by new world number one Mark Selby.

Davis got off to a tough start in the biggest match of his career, losing the first three frames with Selby knocking in a break of 121 in the second.

The world number 16 got himself on the scoreboard before the mid-session interval with a controlled clearance of 76, but Selby took the first frame after the resumption and then went 5-1 up with a break of 81.

Although a run of 80 gave Davis his second frame, Selby restored his four-frame cushion via a 51 to lead 6-2 after the first session.

Selby took advantage of Davis missing a straight-forward red to the corner to win the first frame of the evening session with a break of 64, but a run of 50 got Davis back to 7-3.

A break of 76 put Selby within one of victory before Davis came out on top in a scrappy 12th frame to take the match beyond the mid-session interval. Selby sealed his win, however, by winning the next aided by a 41.

A philosophical Davis told www.worldsnooker.com: “Possibly I let the occasion get to me. It took that break of 76 or so in the fourth frame to settle me down.

“I’ve enjoyed the week. All in all I’ve got to look at it in a positive way because I’ve beaten some top players.”

It was the third time 40-year-old Davis has reached the semi-finals of a full ranking event and all of them have come this season. He beat Cao Yupeng 6-1, Higgins 6-5 and Matthew Stevens 6-4.