John Higgins admitted that the destruction of his previous cue could be an act of ‘divine intervention’ after a 5-4 comeback win over China’s Fan Zhengyi at the Wuhan Open.
The Scot’s cue was left in an irreparable state after being drenched in rain at Paris Airport last month. The subsequent English Open saw him fall out of the world’s top 16 for the first time since 1995.
However, Higgins has found form with his replacement cue and a run to the recent British Open final, which he lost to Mark Selby, saw him return immediately to the top 16 in the rankings.
This evening’s match had been sliding away from Higgins, when former European Masters champion Fan led 3-0 and 4-2. However, a fine break of 61 saw Higgins steal the seventh on the black to remain in contention at 4-3.
That frame turned the tide of the match, with Higgins crafting runs of 66 and 67 to score a 5-4 win and earn a clash with Zak Surety, who beat Robert Milkins 5-4.
“I was going nowhere after Saudi Arabia with my old cue. My game was in bad shape. It maybe took some divine intervention, I don’t know what it was. It made me swap equipment and it seems to have given me a lease of life. Who knows how long it will last but today it seems good," said 31-time ranking event winner Higgins.
“He could have won 5-2 today, but ran out of position. There always seems to be one shot among the mere mortals of the game that you have to do to get over that hurdle. Fan didn’t manage and then I managed to go 4-3 down and stay in the game. I was delighted to win.”
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Shaun Murphy battled to a 5-3 win over former German Masters winner Anthony Hamilton to seal his progression.
The Magician top scored with 105 and his win secures a meeting with Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham, who thrashed Jimmy White 5-1. After this evening’s match he was delighted to have found a way past the experienced Hamilton.
Murphy said: “I don’t think anyone can swamp Anthony. He knows too much and is too clever. He has every shot in the book and I have vast amounts of respect for him. There were moments in the match where we both produced brilliance and moments where we both produced garbage. In the end I’m delighted to be through.”
Home hero Ding Junhui looked to be in fine form as he thrashed Chinese compatriot Xu Si 5-0. The 14-time ranking event winner made century runs of 111, 102 and 130 in the win and now plays Yuan Sijun.
