Jimmy targets Shanghai surprise

Bexhill snooker star Jimmy Robertson is set to take on world number 13 Stephen Maguire in the Shanghai Masters

World number 54 Robertson will face 13th-ranked Stephen Maguire in round one of the Shanghai Masters this afternoon (Wednesday).

Scottish cueman Maguire, a former world number two, has five full ranking event titles to his credit, including the 2004 UK Championship and last year’s Welsh Open, and won the Six-Reds World Championship at the weekend.

But Robertson can draw considerable encouragement from his excellent performance in last month’s qualifiers where he won three matches in impressive fashion.

He came from 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 down to edge out Lyu Haotian with breaks of 62, 52, 96, 54, 58 and 59 before pipping Ben Woollaston by the same score aided by runs of 49, 73, 136 and 46.

Robertson, 28, booked his ticket to the Far East with a 5-3 success against 21st-ranked Xiao Guodong featuring breaks of 58, 44, 52, 62 and 69.