Missed double after missed double will give Lewis nightmares for weeks….’Rocky’ Jenkins was lethal on the finishing to land the knock-out blow.
Lewis stormed into a two set lead, averaging over 100 and smacking in 180s for fun. Jenkins pulled a set back, before we reached what turned out to be a massive turning point. The Stoke youngster missed four darts for a 3 sets to 1 lead…..Jenkins didn’t miss double eight and it was game on.
The Unicorn contender looked shell-shocked, as Jenkins hit double after double, including a brilliant 160 in that pivotal fourth set.
The nerves were jangling and the standard of darts was breathtaking and the match went all the way to the deciding set. Jenkins took the first leg, Lewis the next, then Jenkins edged ahead and Adrian could only stand and watch as the Portsmouth man hit a superb 177 to set up the victory shot. He made no mistake with double 12 and Lewis’ dreams of World Championship glory were shattered.
The statistics told their own story. Lewis hit only 12 doubles from 40 attempts. Jenkins nailed 15 from 22 for a staggering 68 per cent check-out rate.
“I am so disappointed,” Lewis admitted. “The match was there for the taking but I missed so many doubles. He didn’t miss….The rest of my game was fine but I only have myself to blame.”
He can say that again…..Lewis was quite rightly the bookies 3rd favourite and he knows he should be preparing for the quarter-finals….instead he will be left kicking himself for the one that got away.
Well, the dream is finally over for Wynand Havenga. The Unicorn Global star put up a great fight but bowed out of the tournament, losing 4-2 to Darren Webster.
The colourful South African has certainly added something to the World Championships and has made a big impression. He goes home with £8,500 in his pocket, a bucket load of invaluable experience and the promise to come back.
“It was an incredible journey,” Havenga said. “My goal was to reach the last 16 and I have achieved that, so I must be happy. It has been a fantastic experience.”
It seems a long time since Havenga came through the South African qualifiers in Johannesburg. He then signed for Team Unicorn and reached the last 16 of the biggest darts tournament anywhere in the world…..so it’s hasn’t been a bad couple of months for the Cape Town man.
Havenga won only one leg in the opening two sets, as Webster found his range but the South African showed he had the stomach for the fight. He was two legs down in the third set but won it. A brilliant maximum set up the chance to level the match in set four and we all thought he could go on and win it.
Webster though, had other ideas and won six out of the next seven legs to clinch his spot in the quarter-finals.
Havenga has vowed to return during 2007. “I am going to try and play some PDC tournaments during the year. I will go to Holland and I will try to qualify for the World Matchplay in Blackpool, then I will be trying very hard to win the South African qualifiers again and come back to the World Championships.”
The talented Colin Osborne became the third qualifier to reach the quarter-finals, following Webster and Alan Tabern into the last eight.
‘The Wizard’ disposed of World No.4 Roland Scholten. He went two sets up, before the Dutchman staged a mini-recovery but Osborne looked the better player throughout and reeled off five out of six legs to book his date in the quarter-finals against ‘Rocky’ Jenkins on Friday afternoon.
Friday’s 3rd Round results (best of seven sets):
Wynand Havenga 2-4 Darren Webster
BY STUART PYKE
Photo : Lawrence Lustig/PDC
