World Champion Ken Doherty appears to be running into form with the defence of his Crucible crown just around the corner.

But after reaching yet another semi-final in the £350,000 British Open, Doherty is determined to turn a last-four appearance into his first piece of major silverware since his Sheffield success last May.

Last night, the 29-year-old Dubliner scored a comfortable 5-1 victory over Neal Foulds, one of snooker's forgotten men and appearing in the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time since 1994.

Doherty has dropped only two frames and won 20 in his opening four matches, but admits: "The guys I've played are not as good as those left in. Anybody left will be really tough to beat. But I'm going to be tough to beat - for a change," he said.

World number three Doherty started his match 90 minutes late after the opening quarter-final between John Higgins and Gary Ponting went all the way to the final frame.

However, he soon made up for lost time. A break of 74 was the perfect start, though Foulds levelled after a run of 42 in the second.

Doherty's second half-century restored his lead and he doubled the advantage with a break of 50 in a fourth frame that initially had to be re-racked.

The Irishman continued to cue smoothly after the interval, with further runs of 57 and 77 taking him to the winning post.

"Even though I have not won any big titles, this has probably been the most consistent season of my career," said Doherty. "But there is no point in reaching semi-finals all the time. You've got to turn them into tournament victories.

"With just two events to go this season, I'm suddenly playing some of my best snooker.."