Ding Junhui expressed a mixture of emotions on Chinese social media site Weibo immediately following his defeat to Stuart Bingham in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals. The 27-year-old has of course for the most part dealt much better with the pressures of playing at home in the last 18 months, but he was off the pace against Bingham for most of the contest.
Ding said: “I was angry with myself during the match and tried to calm down, but it was difficult. But overall I accept the performance and what I have done at this tournament, and am not too disappointed about going out in the semi-finals. I lost, but no one died. It has been three months since I picked up a cue, I have been on holiday and done other things. It is now time to get into the season properly.”
Photograph by Monique Limbos