'I was embarrassed with myself' - John Higgins battles to fine victory over Zhao Xintong
- Planet Sport writer
- 29 March 2022
Higgins hauls himself into semi-finals of Tour Championship despite early struggles.
Four-time snooker world champion John Higgins admitted he was 'embarrassed by himself' before battling back to beat Zhao Xintong at the Tour Championship.
Higgins was in danger of being blown away at the start of the match as Zhao hit three centuries to take an 8-4 lead over the veteran.
At that point there only ever looked like being one winner in the first-to-ten contest, but Higgins mustered all of his famed resilience to stage a remarkable comeback.
The Scotsman gathered himself and reeled off five frames in succession to take a 9-8 lead and leave himself just a frame away from semi-finals.
Zhao came back at him, winning the 18th frame to force a decider, but Higgins held his momentum to record a memorable victory.
"I can't believe I won that," Higgins admitted. "I was embarrassed with myself at 8-4.
"I was sat there thinking, 'He's playing like the world-class player he is and I'm playing like a club player.
"I didn't fancy coming back at all but then he started missing a couple and I started hitting a little bit better.
"I was still all over the place but I dragged him down to my level. Without a shadow of a doubt, that's why I've won."
Higgins will now face either Judd Trump or Luca Brecel in the last four.
