Ronnie O’Sullivan battles past Ali Carter in Tianjin

O’Sullivan was well below his fluent best and looked concerned that he had damaged his cue after banging it against the side of the table as his frustration threatened to boil over.

However, the seven-time world champion, who managed a highest break of just 60 in an error-strewn contest, quickly regained his composure and took the last two frames to seal a 6-4 victory.

O’Sullivan will face China’s Zhang Anda in the semi-finals after the English Open finalist defeated compatriot Ding Junhui 6-3 with the aid of breaks of 124, 82, 76, 65 and 60.

Jordan Brown will face Tom Ford in the other semi-final after the pair enjoyed victories over Stephen Maguire and Barry Hawkins respectively.

Breaks of 78, 102 and 69 helped Brown into a 5-2 lead and, after Maguire made 94 in the next to reduce the deficit, Brown was on the verge of victory before missing a straightforward red on a break of 59.

Maguire took advantage with a break of 77 and levelled the scores with a century in frame 10, but Brown held his nerve to make a half century in the decider and seal a 6-5 win.

Hawkins, who recovered from 5-1 down to beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-5 in the last 16, threatened a similar fightback when he came from 4-1 behind to get back on level terms, only for Ford to take the last two frames for a 6-4 success.

 

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