By World Snooker Tour

Neil Robertson continued his bid to return to the summit of the sport with a 4-1 defeat of Shaun Murphy at the BetVictor English Open.

The 2010 World Champion endured one of his worst seasons as a professional in 23/24 and as a result has dropped down to a current position of 26th in the world rankings. However, he has recently stated that he feels back to his best and is ready to contend for silverware once more.

Murphy also struggled last season, but has shown signs that his best form his returning in recent months. He went on a brilliant run to the Shanghai Masters final, but was denied the title by Judd Trump. Murphy also made the semis at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, where he again lost out to Trump.

Australia’s Robertson crafted breaks of 50, 57 and 71 on his way to winning this evening and now faces a last 16 meeting with Scotland’s Ross Muir.

“The most pleasing side was the safety aspect of my game. I’ve got a lot of pride back in my safety and the duels that come with it. Trying to force chances and put players in trouble,” said 23-time ranking event winner Robertson.

“Last year I wasn’t in the best place and it didn’t allow me to confront the issue of my form head on. I talked a good game and tried to be positive, but I wasn’t looking forward to the matches and the travelling. This year it is a different mindset where I can’t wait to play.”

World number three Mark Allen defeated Lyu Haotian 4-2 to set up a huge clash with John Higgins in the last 16.

Allen and Higgins last met at the Crucible earlier this year, when Scotland’s Higgins conjured a classic clearance in the decider to deny the Northern Irishman 13-12.

In this evening’s match Allen made breaks of 71, 56, 52, 75 and 70 to secure the win and was delighted with his performance.

“I played pretty well there. I made one mistake in frame two, but other than that I didn’t really put a foot wrong,” said 38-year-old Allen.

“Lyu is a very good player. I have a good record against him, but he will still have fancied the job. He has won matches to get this far and will have fancied beating me. That shows you the strength of the tour now.”

China’s He Guoqiang, who defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan yesterday, continued to impress with a 4-1 win over Stephen Maguire. Next up he faces India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha, who defeated Iranian number one Hossein Vafaei 4-2.