Taylor given a scare

Phil Taylor avoided a scare against Roland Scholten before booking his place in the fourth round of the Speedy Services UK Open with a 9-7 win over the Dutchman.

Taylor kicked off his challenge for a fifth UK Open title on Friday night, but struggled to see off the 2004 champion after enjoying a holiday in Tenerife since winning the McCoy's Premier League Darts last month.

The 51-year-old led 3-1 before Scholten hit back with a mid-game surge to level at six-all and threaten a major upset.

"That's the best I've seen Roland play for three years or so because he's had a bad shoulder injury and I didn't expect him to play like that."
Phil Taylor Quotes of the week

Taylor, though, broke the deadlock by following a key 180 with a killer 101 finish, and took two of the next three legs to edge into the last 32.

"I was really nervous there so it's a relief to get through," admitted Taylor. "That's the best I've seen Roland play for three years or so because he's had a bad shoulder injury and I didn't expect him to play like that.

Taylor will now meet Colin Osborne on Saturday afternoon in a repeat of the 2009 UK Open final, after the Derby ace defeated Nigel Heydon 9-4.

Nine-dart finish

Also on Friday, Gary Anderson hit his first televised nine-dart finish during a 9-3 win over amateur ace David Dodds, a gardener from Durham who had to win three games on Thursday night just to reach the third round.

World number four Anderson, using a new design of darts in competition for the first time, hit his perfect nine-dart finish in the third leg of the game, following two 180s with a 141 checkout to put himself in line for a £10,000 bonus.

"It's very special," said Anderson, who had been on the receiving end of a nine-darter from Mervyn King in Bolton two years ago. "I've never done one on TV before so it's very nice to hit one here."

He will now take on Robert Thornton in an all-Scottish battle on Saturday afternoon, with the Stevenston thrower having come from 6-4 down to defeat Mark Webster 9-7 in the third round.

World Champion Adrian Lewis - a third round loser to Terry Jenkins last year - swept past Kevin McDine 9-1 to book his place in the last 32, and admitted: "It feels fantastic to win so well."

Lewis has drawn Wes Newton, last year's beaten finalist, in a tasty fourth round contest, with the Fleetwood thrower having seen off youngster Shaun Griffiths 9-1 on Friday night.

Knocked out

Reigning champion James Wade, though, was knocked out of the tournament with a 9-5 loss to Colin Lloyd in a thriller.

Lloyd led 3-0 before Wade hit finishes of 170 and 160 to pull back to five-all, only for the former world number one to win the last four legs without reply to seal his place in the last 32, where he meets Joe Cullen.

Two-time UK Open winner Raymond van Barneveld won the all-Dutch clash with Jelle Klaasen 9-3, and was joined in the fourth round by fellow countryman Vincent van der Voort, the 2007 runner-up who saw off amateur qualifier Paul Amos 9-6.

Michael van Gerwen completed the trio of Dutch players in the fourth round, defeating Ireland's William O'Connor 9-3, while Belgium's Kim Huybrechts made a successful UK Open debut with a 9-4 defeat of Peter Hudson.

Huybrechts and van der Voort will clash on Saturday afternoon on the main stage in Bolton, while van Barneveld drew Andy Hamilton, who was a 9-2 winner against Richie Howson in the third round.

Australian ace Simon Whitlock ended the hopes of York's Terry Temple with a 9-6 win, and he is joined in the last 32 by his World Cup team-mate Paul Nicholson, who was a 9-7 winner against Northern Ireland's Michael Mansell.

Board One
Vincent van der Voort v Kim Huybrechts
Andy Hamilton v Raymond van Barneveld
Colin Osborne v Phil Taylor
Wes Newton v Adrian Lewis

Board Two
Colin Lloyd v Joe Cullen
Robert Thornton v Gary Anderson
Paul Nicholson v Arron Monk
Terry Jenkins v Dean Winstanley

Board Three
Justin Pipe v Simon Whitlock
Richie Burnett v Peter Wright
Mark Hylton v Jamie Caven
Dennis Priestley v Andy Smith

Board Four
Dennis Smith v Dave Chisnall
Brendan Dolan v Denis Ovens
Darren Webster v Ronnie Baxter
Michael van Gerwen v Mervyn King