John Higgins battled back to frustrate Ronnie O'Sullivan in a tense second-round clash at the Crucible on Sunday night. The Scot won the final three frames to reduce the Rocket's advantage to two, trailing 9-7 after the second session.
O'Sullivan's frustration boils over
Ronnie O'Sullivan showed his frustration by thumping the table after missing an early red in the pivotal final frame of the session. The seven-time world champion had twice led by five frames and looked set to cruise towards the quarter-finals at the expense of the out-of-sorts Scot. However, Higgins drew on his decades of top-level experience to end the evening just two adrift.
Higgins never got going in the early stages but clawed out frame 14 despite fluffing an attempted escape from a snooker. He never looked back, reeling in a 55-point deficit in the next frame, then holding his nerve in an edgy last frame of the night in which both players went in-off at crucial moments.
Zhao Xintong moves closer to breaking Crucible Curse
Defending champion Zhao Xintong moved closer to cracking the so-called 'Crucible Curse' by booking his place back in the quarter-finals with a 13-9 win over compatriot Ding Junhui. Zhao shrugged off some evident nerves to build on a 9-7 overnight advantage despite losing an error-strewn, 46-minute opener that saw Ding temporarily reduce the arrears to a single frame.
The 29-year-old, looking to become the first first-time winner to retain his title at the Crucible, capitalised on a series of misses by his opponent to pull away. A break of 108 in the penultimate frame helped seal a last-eight clash with Shaun Murphy. 'Today I think there was more pressure,' Zhao told BBC Sport. 'I know Ding didn't play very well in the last session but the pressure is very big. This year I just don't want to lose any match so it feels very different.'
Trump and Robertson also advance
World number one Judd Trump inched closer to booking his place in the quarter-finals after establishing a 9-7 overnight lead in a pulsating contest against Iran's Hossein Vafaei. Resuming at 4-4, Trump struggled to get into his stride as his inspired opponent edged 7-6 in front. However, Trump responded brilliantly, a century followed by further breaks of 74 and 94 seeing him end their second session with a precious advantage.
Neil Robertson took advantage of a controversial moment in the 14th frame of his clash with Chris Wakelin to move four clear at 10-6 ahead of Monday's conclusion. Wakelin was well in the ascendency when he potted a long red, but a foul was called by referee Peggy Li who noticed him feather the yellow ball in the process. Wakelin clearly did not agree with the referee's call but the decision stood after Li called for a replay. Robertson capitalised to take the frame with a 65 break, before further breaks of 65 and 101 took him to the brink of his first last-eight appearance since 2021.
