O’Sullivan surprised by ease in reaching Crucible semi-finals
WORLD Snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted his surprise at the ease with which he brushed aside Shaun Murphy in yesterday’s quarter-final.
O’Sullivan recovered from 2-0 down to lead 6-2 overnight and proved too strong for 2005 champion Murphy when they resumed, triumphing 13-3.
The 38-year-old, on a 13-match winning streak at the Crucible, said: “You just never know what type of match you’re going to get.
“You can expect a really tough match and it turn out easy like it did with Shaun.
“He just missed a few balls and let me in quite easily. I didn’t have to fight for my chances.”
O’Sullivan advances to play Barry Hawkins, who survived a scare having let an 11-5 lead turn into a 12-11 deficit against Dominic Dale, before winning the last two frames.
World No1 Neil Robertson recorded his 100th century of the season in beating Judd Trump 13-11, while Mark Selby defeated Alan McManus 13-5.