Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Open match.
For both players this is a chance to make amends for recent setbacks. At stake is not only progression to the next round, but also an opportunity to rebuild confidence at the start of a new stretch of the season.
Reanne Evans
Reanne is on a difficult run: just three wins in her last 10 matches, one of which came via walkover. Across that period she has produced only one 50+ break, with a highest break of 84. A 0:4 defeat to Stan Moody recently highlighted serious issues with chance conversion. Her game is aggressive and positive, but low-percentage shots often result in a loss of position. Evans can surprise in isolated passages, yet consistency is clearly lacking.
Jiang Jun
Jiang Jun has also been inconsistent of late, with three wins and seven defeats across his last 10 matches. However, his break-building statistics are impressive: 11 breaks over 50 and a 123-point century. That underlines an ability to close out frames through powerful, attacking visits. Despite sitting 124th in the rankings, the Chinese shows composure and often keeps control of the table in shorter matches. In recent outings he has been losing, but he has still dictated the play and applied pressure to opponents.
Reanne Evans vs Jiang Jun Prediction
The comparison of form and statistics favours Jiang Jun: he delivers more substantial scoring visits, looks more assured in attack and converts chances more reliably. Reanne Evans is making too many errors and is not compiling enough sizeable breaks, which in a best-of-seven (first to four) is likely to bring a swift finish. We do not expect a long match, because the levels look notably different.
