Gary Anderson must improve ahead of Raymond van Barneveld showdown
Friday 7 October 2016 21:14, UK
Wayne Mardle insists Gary Anderson will have to improve on his quarter-final performance if he is to reach a maiden World Grand Prix final
Anderson was well below his best against Kim Huybrechts in Thursday's last eight showdown but found a way to win to advance to a last-four meeting with an in-form Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen meets Dave Chisnall in the other semi-final with 'Chizzy' the only man of the final four yet to claim a major title.
Barney is yet to drop a set in a run that has seen him beat Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis and Benito van de Pas and while Mardle says the five time world champion will not be the favourite, he says there needs to be a considerable improvement from Anderson.
"There's a case for all of them, but Gary Anderson will have to improve on that, without a shadow of a doubt," Mardle told Sky Sports.
"Gary will be very relieved to get through because if Kim had played just two per cent better, it could have been a different story.
"The first set was as bad as I've seen Gary play, but as he said himself, he just couldn't reach tops. When you get a part of your game that lets you down, it affects other parts.
"The best he played was the last two legs. That's a positive - a positive win on a negative performance. But he shouldn't let that bother him."
Live World Grand Prix Darts
Neither Anderson or Van Barneveld have won the Grand Prix title and Anderson has won the last eight meetings between the pair but Barney has been rejuvenated as he chases a first major title since the 2014 Premier League title.
"Barneveld will not be favourite for that darts match but that doesn't mean he won't believe he can win it," Mardle added.
"When Barney is at it, he's a winner. He hasn't won anything since the Premier League two years ago, and he'll have to do it the hard way.
"He's already beat some real good competitors - Gary Anderson has to play better than that. Barney will play well, and if Gary plays poorly, he'll be out."
In a tournament that has seen six of the top eight seeds fall by the wayside early, the semi-final line-up in Dublin promises to be a high-class affair and you can see all the action on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm.
"Michael van Gerwen is the one to beat without a shadow of a doubt, but Chizzy has to believe it," said Mardle.
"There are four potential winners here, there aren't any that can't go on to win a major event.
"The only one who hasn't won one Chizzy. Is he capable? Of course he is. Just because he hasn't won one, doesn't mean he can't. Maybe it changes for him."
You can follow all the action from Friday's semi-finals with our live blog and on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm.
