Patrick could rattle higher-ranked Joyce
Lesser known cueman is capable of causing another upset
Eurosport 1 & Quest
7.30am Monday
The boys are on the baize in Beijing for the China Open and it could pay to back Fraser Patrick when he takes on Mark Joyce in the first round this afternoon.
Joyce is the more established cueman and given he is ranked 51 in the world and Patrick is down at 106 it’s not surprising to see the layers chalk up Joyce as a strong favourite.
However, there doesn’t seem to be as much between the players as the odds imply.
There have been some very disappointing performances from Patrick this season but also some encouraging efforts.
Last-32 runs in the Northern Ireland and English Opens suggest that the Scot has the game to cause Joyce problems and that was evident than the Glasgow potter defeated Ryan Day 5-2 to qualify for this event.
Joyce has hardly been flying. The Midlands man suffered first-round defeats to Mark Davis in the recent Gibraltar Open and to Ross Muir in the Coral Welsh Open.
Joyce deserves to be favourite but at 9-4 Patrick has to be backed to cause an upset.
Recommendation
F Patrick
1pt 9-4 Sky Bet
Published on 26 March 2017inSnooker tips
Last updated 17:40, 26 March 2017
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