A perfectly executed running shot with his last bowl on the first end of a tie-break was instrumental in lifting Alex Marshall over the finishing line and into the quarter-finals of the Dales Sports Surfaces Scottish International Open at Perth.
In a tightly contested match against Simon Skelton, the No.15 seed, the world No.1 hit back from dropping the opening set 9-6 and reversed that scoreline in the second before going on to win the tie-break 2-0.
"I think I played a lot of wrong shots throughout the match and my drives never really connected so, when I was presented with the dilemma of hitting Simon's holding shot to a ditched jack off the rink or drawing within six inches from the ditch, that was uppermost in my mind. I couldn't really see his bowl but timed it perfectly."
Also joining Marshall in the last eight are Mervyn King, Greg Harlow and Mark Royal.
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