English Open 2021 - Neil Robertson edges Kyren Wilson to reach English Open semi-finals, John Higgins holds on
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Updated 06/11/2021 at 01:25 GMT
The world number four took on the player directly beneath him as Neil Robertson clashed with Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals of the English Open on Friday night. The Australian emerged victorious when he won the ninth and final frame to go ahead for the first time in the course of the match. Stream the English Open live and on demand on discovery+
‘Brilliant, brilliant!’ – Robertson shows his class during Wilson win
Neil Robertson beat Kyren Wilson 5-4 in the English Open quarter-finals which saw some of the best snooker of the tournament, and John Higgins defeated Yan Bingtao.
Wilson went ahead with a 52 break on his way to a 108-15 margin to hit the ground running, but his Australian rival Robertson immediately hit back with a 104 break to take the second, failing to convert a 147 attempt.
In the third frame, Wilson outdid Robertson as he hit 117, leaving him three frames from victory.
The 29-year-old Englishman was looking for his fifth ranking title success, while Robertson was looking to better his performance last year when he was the losing finalist.
The Australian then added a break of 72 to level things at 2-2 with the match just before the headway point.
Wilson added another century - 110 - to edge ahead again, only for Robertson to put up an unanswered break of 95 in the sixth frame to square things again.
The scoring dropped off - only a little - with a 55 break enough to carry Wilson to a 4-3 lead, just one from victory. However Robertson put in the performance of the match when he built a 126 break to go level again and set up a decisive ninth frame.
A 70 then gave Robertson the lead the first time in the match, and the win. He will play Mark King in the semi-finals.
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‘Another delicate shot!’ – Robertson drops red into centre pocket with laser-like precision
In the evening’s other quarter-final, 46-year-old veteran and former world number one John Higgins beat Yan Bingtao - 25 years his junior - with a 5-3 win.
The Scot won the first frame 59-35, and it was just as tough a second, if not harder, which he edged 61-60, and the third frame ended 72-60 to see Higgins move three up, with neither competitor able to hit a half-century or better so far.
Higgins finally flashed a little form when his 55 was essential to a 84-32 success in the fourth frame, meaning the former world number one was just one frame from victory.
Bingtao, though, refused to roll over and without any overwhelming breaks he nonetheless won two consecutive frames to half the deficit, before taking it to 4-3.
Higgins failed yet again to build any notable break, but was able to find the resilience to scrap to a 73-29 win in the final and winning frame to set up a clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan.
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The UCI Track Champions League is coming and you can watch all of the action live on the Eurosport app, eurosport.co.uk and discovery+. Find out more about the "mind-blowing" new era for track cycling, with the first event on November 6 in Mallorca.
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