Snooker: Fu reaches first final since 2008

BERLIN: Hong Kong’s Marco Fu reached his first major final since 2008 on Saturday and credited his run at the German Masters to becoming a father for the first time. The 35-year-old Fu defeated England’s Barry Hawkins 6-4 to set up a final meeting with Ali Carter who beat Australia’s former world champion Neil Robertson 6-2 in his semi-final. “My preparation was not great for this tournament, I only practised about a third as much as I normally do,” said Fu, whose only previous title came at the 2007 Masters. “There have been some sleepless nights.” Carter will be aiming for the third ranking title of his career after the 2009 Welsh Open and 2010 Shanghai Masters.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2013.