SNOOKER:Ronnie O'Sullivan booked his place in the semi-finals of the Masters at Wembley with a 6-2 win over in-form Ali Carter tonight.
The Englishman, who has won the tournament three times, was not at his brilliant best, but took advantage of a number of errors from Carter, who whitewashed Peter Ebdon in the last round.
‘The Rocket’, was kept at bay in the opening frames, but went 3-2 up when Carter missed a risky plant, before storming into a two-frame lead with a 128 clearance.
A 115 clearance followed, and when Carter missed the black off the spot in the eighth frame, O’Sullivan capitalised in emphatic fashion with a break of 91 to seal the tie.
O’Sullivan will face Stephen Maguire in the last four, who recorded an impressive 6-3 win over Australian Neil Robertson earlier today.
The match featured the rarity of five centuries in a row as both players produced some stunning potting, but ultimately Maguire’s class shone through as he saw out the ninth frame with a break of 113.
Leading 4-1, 27-year-old Maguire looked in danger of squandering his advantage when Robertson hauled himself back into the match with a brilliant 122 and then capitalised on the Scotsman’s straightforward miss on the green to snap up the seventh frame.
But Maguire accelerated ahead with a 105 before clinching the win.
