Snooker ace looks for Tour tonic

SNOOKER ace Ashley Carty has targeted a solid finish in the European Tour Open in Latvia to banish the disappointment of last week’s World U21 championship.

The 20-year-old from Thurcroft heads to Riga where he will face seasoned Maltese pro Alex Borg in a qualifier. If he wins that one, he faces Wisbech’s Joe Perry in the opening round of a competition which features some of the biggest names in the game.

Carty is keen to return to form after slipping out of the U21s in Bucharest at the quarter-final stage.

He went out 6-4 to China’s Wang Yuchen, but despite being the highest-placed English player he was disappointed with the defeat.

“I had been playing well but then my performance dropped a little,” he said.