Snooker: Marco Fu completed a storming comeback to defeat Ali Carter 9-7 in Telford tonight and reach the final of the Maplin UK Championship after an enthralling duel.
The Hong Kong player trailed Carter 5-2 and 6-4 in their best-of-19-frames tie but produced a near-flawless display to turn the match back in his favour.
Fu had hit two century breaks in the afternoon but his inconsistency let him down and it was Carter who clearly held the initiative going into the decisive evening session.
Fu began in the best possible way with his third century of 106 before Carter re-established a two-frame lead and showed few signs of nerves as he aimed to build on his runner-up finish in the World Championship.
But Fu was soon flying and reeled off the next three frames in a row before the simplest of missed reds by Carter allowed the underdog to take a fourth and move within one more of victory.
Carter stirred and showed more confidence as he pulled back one of the frames required and when he built a 39-0 lead in the 16th it appeared a tense tie was heading for a decider.
But Carter fell out of position on a straightforward red, allowing Fu back in and his in-form opponent made the most of his chance in style, reeling off a clearance of 85 to take the match.
Carter was left to rue a big mistake in the final frame of the afternoon session when he missed a simple pink which would have put him well on the way towards a 6-2 advantage.
The early stages of the contest had been relatively even as they traded the first two frames, Fu hitting back to level with a superb 136 after Carter had taken the opener.
Yet Fu was let down by his safety game, and Carter nudged back in front after a break of 45 forced Fu to concede with three reds still remaining on the table.
Runs of 45 and 59 then gave Tiptree cueman Carter a 3-1 lead going into the mid-session interval, and he extended that in the first frame back after Fu failed to make the most of an early opportunity.
Fu missed a routine red - and Carter stepped in, with a 45 break putting him 52 ahead. A poor contact on a red allowed Fu back to the table, but the 2007 Grand Prix winner was unable to take advantage of the reprieve.
Fu finally got back among the balls in the sixth frame, after Carter failed to get the cue ball safe from the break, and cut the deficit with a superb 102.
He looked good in the next too but ran out of position after a composed 45, and Carter pounced to clear up with 71.
After a scrappy start to the eighth, Carter looked to have taken a firm grip. But a slight mistake allowed Fu to clear the colours and take the frame on the black.
Fu went on to take his place in the final where he will play either Shaun Murphy or Stephen Maguire, who begin their semi-final tomorrow.