Ali Carter crowned World Open champion after beating Joe Perry
By Mark Ashenden
Last Updated: 31/07/16 5:25pm
Ali Carter secured his fourth ranking title by beating Joe Perry 10-8 in the final of the World Open in China.
It is a remarkable turnaround for the 37-year-old from Colchester who has battled testicular cancer and a tumour on his lung, and continues to deal with Crohn's disease.
The two-time runner-up at the World Championships enjoyed an 8-3 lead and despite a valiant fightback from Perry, Carter held on to win the £90,000 purse and jump 15 places in the world rankings to 16th.
Perry, 41, was at his brightest at the start of the contest, leading 2-1 and 3-2 thanks to breaks of 54, 56 and 78.
But Carter hit back with a purple patch to reel off six successive frames with runs of 80, 54, 91, 53, 61 and a superb 70 clearance in frame 11 to build up a 8-3 advantage.
His opponent from Cambridgeshire stopped the rot in a scrappy 12th and then made a stunning 131 in the next to reduce the deficit to three.
Carter was stumbling towards the finish line, but still Perry, only showing glimpses of the form he showed in his semi-final win over Neil Robertson, would not let go and a break of 106 gave him hope at 9-6.
It was turning into a nervy and fascinating finale as Perry won the next two with a knock of 92. But Carter stayed cool and finished in style with a 127 to win his first title since the 2013 German Masters.
