Sport

Murphy's law for Stevens

SNOOKER/World Championship: Shaun Murphy, the 2005 champion, produced the greatest quarter-final comeback in the 30 years that…

Clive Everton At The Crucible
Sheffield
Thu May 03 2007 - 01:00

SNOOKER/World Championship:Shaun Murphy, the 2005 champion, produced the greatest quarter-final comeback in the 30 years that this theatre has staged the World Championship by recovering from five down with six to play to beat Matthew Stevens 13-12, after a final session of three hours 40 minutes during which the tension undermined fluency but enhanced drama.

"I had the game won at 11-5," said Stevens. "I missed a few chances. I should have won 13-7 when I was clearing up the colours but I just couldn't get over the line. I felt all right but the tension built up."

Murphy had resumed yesterday "never seriously believing I could win" but, as he noted Stevens slowly succumbing to "clinchers disease", he remembered Ken Doherty's extraordinary 17-16 semi-final victory over Paul Hunter here in 2003 from 15-9 down and a few occasions when Stevens had failed to clinch a winning position. Even so it took "the hardest sustained period of grafting" of his career to level at 12-12 before breaks of 44 and 43 gave him the decider without Stevens scoring.

The only cloud on Murphy's horizon is his rift with his father, Tony, previously the driving force in his career, with whom he has not spoken for 18 months. "He said a lot of stuff which just wasn't acceptable. He owes me an apology and unless he rings me to say sorry I don't know when we'll speak," said the 24-year-old.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan's bid for a third world title ended as he lost 13-9 to John Higgins. The Scot dominated the morning, going 11-5 up in the best-of-25-frame game to stand just two frames from victory.

After the restart O'Sullivan hit breaks of 48 and 70 as he took three of the first four frames to stay in the game. A 93 break cut the gap to three frames but when he missed a long red in the next Higgins made no mistake and gained revenge for his 2001 final defeat.

Stephen Maguire made breaks of 96, 137 and 108 in not allowing Anthony Hamilton to pot a ball in the four frames he needed to complete the 13-7 victory which gives him a maiden semi-final appearance here.

Guardian Service