Snooker/Welsh Open:Ronnie O'Sullivan safeguarded his unbeaten record against former practice partner Ali Carter to reach the semi-finals of the Welsh Open in Newport today but only after staring defeat in the face.
The pre-event favourite squeezed into the last four with a 5-4 victory over Carter, an opponent he has now beaten in all eight of their professional tournament encounters.
But O'Sullivan, forced to change his cue-tip after beating Steve Davis 5-3 in the last 16 yesterday could easily have succumbed to a shock defeat.
Carter led 2-0 and 3-2 before O'Sullivan, seeking to capture the Welsh Open title for the third time in five years, found a degree of fluency to edge 4-3 ahead with breaks of 77 and 68.
O'Sullivan, involved in what appears to be developing into a three-man race for the world number one spot with Stephen Maguire and Shaun Murphy, also had a gilt-edged chance early in frame eight.
In amongst the balls, though, he surprisingly missed a short-range red using the rest and Carter constructed a 105 clearance to force a decider.
Carter, responsible for ending the title defence of Australia's Neil Robertson in the last 16, was also looking good in the all-important ninth frame but missed a pink to a middle pocket.
It was to be his last significant shot of the contest as O'Sullivan, who compiled a record five century breaks during his 5-2 win over Carter at the Northern Ireland Trophy in November, stepped in with a 55 break.
"My tip was too flat and I couldn't really play with side," said O'Sullivan, who asked Darren Morgan, the former Irish Masters champion, now TV commentator, to work on the offending tip during the 15-minute mid-session interval.
"I missed a few pots because of the tip and at no time did I feel confident with it," explained O'Sullivan.
"Of course I was disappointed that I was missing so many balls, blacks off the spot and everything, but I was never really under pressure because Ali wasn't playing too well.
"I know he gets nervous when he gets near the winning line. He starts to look agitated out there and even when he gets a chance you get the feeling he's going to miss something. Towards the end he started to look uncomfortable."
O'Sullivan, already top of the money list for the 2007-08 campaign with £287,600 after winning the Premier League and UK Championship in December, is now only two victories from adding the £35,000 first prize to his tally.