Robertson closing in on century of centuries and last-eight spot
WORLD No1 Neil Robertson scored his 99th century of the season with a sensational 137 break to take a 9-7 lead over Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen in their World Championship second round match at the Crucible.
The Australian, bidding to become the first player ever to score 100 centuries in a single season, won the final two frames of last night’s evening session to edge in front in the best of 25-frames match, set to resume at 1pm today.
Shaun Murphy, champion in 2005, let slip a commanding lead over Marco Fu, though also remains 9-7 in front ahead of today’s resumption.
Going into the evening session level at 4-4, Murphy rattled off four frames in a row.
But world No7 Fu, clawed his way back into contention with a stunning break of 136 in the final action of the night.
The winner is set to play popular reigning world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-final tomorrow.
In yesterday’s afternoon session, Dominic Dale of Wales edged toward landing a quarter-final with last year’s runner-up Barry Hawkins after establishing an 11-5 lead against Michael Wasley.
Wasley, making his debut at the Crucible, knocked out world No2 Ding Junhui in round one.
England’s Judd Trump leads 10-6 against Welshman Ryan Day. The pair play to a finish at 7pm tonight.