Doherty concerned

Wembley runner-up Ken Doherty has called for a shake-up of the snooker calendar to prevent burn-out of the top players.

Less than 48 hours after losing to John Higgins in the UK Masters final, Doherty was back at the table yesterday for his first match in the £370,000 Scottish Open.

Although the 1997 world champion survived a tricky opener against Welsh Open semi-finalist Joe Swail in Aberdeen, winning 52, Doherty says the schedule needs revising.

"The season should be spaced out more," argued the world number four, who could be in action every day until Sunday if he reaches another final.

"At the moment they all come one after the other. It's really only affected me this week. But I can imagine it takes its toll on players like Mark Williams and John Higgins who have been more consistent."

Doherty, who meets Scotland's Marcus Campbell today for a place in the third round, is nonetheless confident the sport has a healthy future.

"It's in good shape. The TV viewing figures are consistent and the standard is higher than it's ever been. It all shows the game isn't going backwards," he said.