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Murphy pays price for 'poor preparation'
SHAUN Murphy admitted it felt like he had been "slapped in the face" after a shock first-round defeat at the Glasgow Grand Prix yesterday.
The former Rotherham potter let slip a 4-3 lead in a 5-4 defeat to Barry Pinches, a qualifier from Norwich, at the Kelvin Hall.
And the world No 3 admitted afterwards that his early exit in front of the BBC-television camera had been down to 'poor preparation.'
"It's the biggest slap in the face and biggest kick up the backside I could have had," admitted Murphy.
"I've let myself down and I've let my team members down. It's been a wake-up call.
"I was a long way off my best, to be honest I made the ultimate penalty for extremely poor preparation coming into this event.
"I've been doing all the things I haven't done for years because I've been playing snooker since I was nine.
"I forgot the ABC stuff which has got me here. I'll never forget again."
Murphy led 2-0 thanks to breaks of 46 and 67, before Pinches pocketed a match high break of 109 and runs of 36 and 33 to level before the interval.
And although breaks of 46 and 93 saw former World Championship winner and defending UK champion Murphy edge within a frame of victory, it was Pinches who booked his place in the last 16 stage thanks to runs of 40 and 60.
Sheffield-based Chinese cueman Liang Wenbo was well-placed to progress having established a 2-0 lead against former Crucible champion Peter Ebdon in their first round clash.
Breaks of 70 and 38 saw Wenbo edge ahead, but Ebdon hit back to win five frames on the spin with runs of 72, 44, 46 and 39 to keep his title hopes alive.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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