Ill father continues to inspire Clayton at World Matchplay: ''I want to do this for him''

Jonny Clayton made it into the semi-finals at the World Matchplay in Blackpool on Friday night, for the first time in his career. In the last eight, he was a 16-12 winner, proving too strong for Ryan Searle.

The first half of the match was completely even. After the third session, however, Clayton distanced himself from Searle by turning a 7-8 deficit into a 13-9 lead. Clayton was able to consolidate that lead going forward.

''It sounds pretty good to be a semi-finalist becauseusually I'ma first-round loser,'' Clayton laughs in an initial reaction after his victory over Searle.

The former Premier League champion caused a stir with no fewer than six 100+ finishes against his English opponent. "Maybe my three dart combinations are pretty good," he says. "I love the bull so obviously that helped me out a lot tonight as well."

Meanwhile, Clayton is just two wins away from a first World Matchplay title. Does he already dare to dream of the final victory? ''I feel good, I'm playing good darts and I've just got to keep beating who's in front of me. Tomorrow night will be different but it's going to be another task that I'm going to try and get over."

A title at Blackpool would mean a lot to the 48-year-old Clayton. ''This would mean so much to me. Obviously I've got family reasons, Dad's not very well and I want to do this for him."