JOHN Higgins stormed into the semi-finals of the Dafabet Scottish Open on day five with a stunning performance against England’s Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The Wizard of Wishaw barely put a foot wrong all night as he claimed a quickfire 5-0 victory over the world No.2, cheered on by a raucous Glasgow crowd.
The Scot settled into the game quickly, claiming the first frame with a break of 55 which seemed to settle the nerves.
The 42-year-old has been in stellar form all week at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena and he continued that against the UK champion, firing in three century-breaks and a sublime 72 to settle the match.
The match had been hotly-anticipated ever since it was confirmed, with both players in the top five in the world and two of the most experienced on tour.
With that in mind, both players were cheered into the arena and the Wishaw potter says the atmosphere affected both men.
“It was brilliant, Deep Blue playing and everything, it was fantastic,” said Higgins.
“Obviously Ronnie came out next and he had brilliant support as well, it felt a little bit like a football game at the start and that’s why it was a little bit edgy.
“I’ve lost quite heavily the last couple of times I’ve played him (O’Sullivan) so I tried my hardest tonight in front of my family and friends.
“I didn’t want to go out the way I’ve lost to him previously.
“The first couple of frames were important and it was edgy, I think Ronnie was a bit edgy as well and then nicking it to go 2-0 settled me down.
“2-0 was a little bit scrappy but then a couple of centuries to the mid-session break were key.
“I had some decent breaks after that and I think Ronnie was unlucky a couple of times playing into the pack, it just fell for me tonight.
“Ronnie missed a red that he’ll be disappointed in, in the fourth frame, I managed to get a red in and cleared up, going 4-0 up was huge and it’s a big cushion to have.”
Higgins has spoken all week about the significance of winning in Scotland, and that extra edge seems to have spurred him on in his play.
The two cueists have a lot of respect for each other, and the victory clearly meant more to Higgins having come against one of snooker’s greats.
“The last time I whitewashed him was in 1994,” Higgins added. “From what I can remember I played him in the quarter-finals then so this is a great result for me here.
“This is a far better result because of the way Ronnie’s been playing this year and his confidence.
“I’m not as confident this year so it’s a far better.
“From my point of view obviously I knew Ronnie’s been playing so well and I’ve lost pretty heavily the last couple of times I’ve played him, and that’s in the back of your mind - you try to block it out but it’s always there.”
Higgins will face Neil Robertson in the semi-final on Saturday after the Australian overcame China’s Xiao Guodong 5-4 in a thrilling match in the afternoon session.
Both players were on top form, with Xiao hitting breaks of 63, 62, 51 and 73 but Robertson bettering that with three century-breaks plus a 79 in the crucial decider.
After a tricky 12 months the Australian former world No.1 has looked back to his best in Glasgow, if not better, and has beaten Rod Lawler, Liam Highfield, Chris Totten and David Grace before edging past Xiao.
Speaking before the result of the other quarter-final, Robertson talked about how much a win would mean to him.
“It would be a nice little Christmas present if I won here, the most important thing is that I’m playing really really well and if I keep playing like this I’m bound to pick up a trophy of two before the end of the season.
“I ran into another juggernaut again today, it was like Joyce (Mark) last week in the UKs, I pumped loads of breaks into him and he just sort of responded really well and it was the same again today.”
Watch the Scottish Open LIVE on Eurosport, Eurosport Player and Quest with Andy Goldstein and analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds
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