In-form Davis targets ranking title

The St Leonards talent won the Sangsom 6-Red World Championship in Thailand and General Cup in Hong Kong - both non-ranking events - before reaching the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters, which is a ranking event.

Davis told Observer Sport: “I couldn’t really have asked for much more when you reflect on the three weeks. I was disappointed when I lost in the quarter-finals, but if you had offered me that before I left, I would’ve bitten your hand off.”

The 41-year-old chalked up a remarkable eight wins against players in the top 10 of the world rankings during his Asian adventure, including beating top ranked Neil Robertson in two finals.

“To win a ranking event title is the next goal,” Davis went on. “I’ve beaten a lot of the top players; it’s just putting it all together in one tournament - that’s why ranking events are so hard to win.

“I would like to win a tournament and the other thing is to be in the Masters again. It’s going in the right direction. If I can keep the form up and keep playing as I am, hopefully it won’t be too far away. I feel I’m playing well enough, but sometimes that’s not enough.”

After beating 2012 World Championship runner-up Ali Carter 5-2 and four-time world champion John Higgins 5-1 in Shanghai last week, Davis was the highest ranked player in the top half of the draw going into the quarter-finals.

He then led 3-1 and 4-2 against 28th-ranked Xiao Guodong on Friday, but lost the subsequent three frames for a 5-4 defeat. Guodong went on to beat Michael Holt in the semi-finals before losing to Chinese compatriot Ding Junhui.

See tomorrow’s Hastings Observer for the full article.