Taylor avoids Ana upset

Taylor: Too much Power for women's champ

Ana is a great player and has so much potential to realise, and she will only be better for this.

Phil Taylor
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Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld overcame women's world champions Anastasia Dobromyslova and Francis Hoenselaar in their opening matches of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

The two powerhouses of the men's game faced tricky opening group fixtures as the two best in the women's game presented a unique test for them at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton.

Russian Dobromyslova was beaten 5-0 by Taylor, while reigning women's world champion Hoenselaar was on the wrong end of a 5-1 scoreline against five-time world champion van Barneveld.

Barney had a 160 finish as he moved 3-0 ahead, but compatriot Hoenselaar grabbed a leg to reduce the deficit before van Barneveld hit a 121 to later finish it 5-1.

"It wasn't easy for me to play Francis," said van Barneveld. "We have practised many hours together in the past and I know what she can do on her day."

Russian over-Powered

25-year-old Russian Dobromyslova was unable to take a leg off 'The Power' as she went down 5-0, but she just missed out on tops for a 111 finish which would have brought the house down.

"It was a tough game for both of us because we know each other so well," said Taylor, who has helped the Russian out in practice.

"Ana is a great player and has so much potential to realise, and she will only be better for this."

2008 World Championship runner-up Kirk Shepherd was also whitewashed 5-0 as fifth seed Mervyn King was at his clinical best with a 100 percent checkout ratio - including finishes of 100 and 106.

Debutant Tony O'Shea is the current top ranked player in the BDO and he showed why with a comfortable 5-3 victory over Brian 'Pecker' Woods in his first group encounter.

Wizard comeback

In-form Colin Osborne produced a brilliant comeback against Colin Lloyd, as 'The Wizard' weaved his magic to reverse a 3-0 deficit to win 5-3 against the former PDC number one.

Lloyd forged ahead amongst a raft of mistakes as the two men combined for 22 missed doubles in the opening four legs, but the recent Championship League winner prevailed after reeling off five legs on the spin.

The only upset of the night came as qualifier Steve Maish lost the first leg but recovered to beat Daryl Fitton 5-1 in their opening group match.

Kevin Painter produced a strong showing to defeat three-time world champion John Part 5-3, with 'The Artist' averaging just over 100 and taking out a brilliant Shanghai finish during the win.