Snooker/World Championship: Matthew Stevens, who has lost one world championship final and three semi-finals in the past five years, overcame Stephen Hendry 13-11 in a desperately edgy last session after being poised at 8-8 overnight.
"It wasn't the best quality match but you've got to come through matches like this," said the 27-year-old Welshman. "Thankfully for me Stephen didn't play well."
Hendry was "bitterly disappointed with how I played except for four frames" - a reference to the flawless spell to lead 7-5 in which he made breaks of 138, 86, 114 and 59.
The seven-time world champion underlined the essential difference between his game now at the age of 36 compared with 10 years ago: "I've proved this season I can win but I don't know what I can do to cut out silly mistakes. I'm not twitching. It's just lack of concentration. I played like an idiot at times."
Even so, he led 11-9 prior to three tight, eventful frames in which errors, flukes and spasmodic quality had the plot twisting and turning. Needing the last two colours to go three up with four to play, Hendry failed at the pink in forcing the cue ball off two cushions for the black.
Stevens clung on from his early 66 to equalise at 11-11 and though Hendry twice set up snookers, the Welshman put his nose in front with two to play. Only one was needed.
Stevens is now expected to make his class tell in his semi-final meeting with Ian McCulloch, who won 13-8 in a pedestrian encounter with Alan McManus.
McManus resumed 5-3 ahead but lost all the six frames that time permitted yesterday afternoon to trail 9-5. The Scotsman rallied to take three of the first four frames of last night's session to trail 10-8, but breaks of 75 and 73 left McCulloch within touching distance, and he closed the match out in the 21st frame.
Shaun Murphy was described by Steve Davis as "arguably the best long-potter left in the tournament" when his rival had secured the one frame he needed to complete a 13-4 trouncing. "Shaun's putting them off the lampshades," Davis added. "All through the match he made so many unbelievable long pots and I made too many mistakes to stay with him."
The fourth quarter-final was delicately poised last night, with Peter Ebdon - who at one stage trailed 8-2 - leading Ronnie O'Sullivan 12-10.
