World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan is closing in on a place in the Shanghai Masters final after victory over Mark Williams.
O'Sullivan to face Maguire for place in the final
World champion and world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan is closing in on a place in the Shanghai Masters final after victory over Mark Williams.
The Rocket impressed with a 5-3 quarter-final win over the Welshman at the Grand Stage and will now play Scotland's Stephen Maguire in the semi-finals.
Maguire held his nerve and fought back from 2-1 down to edge another Welshman, Ryan Day, 5-4 in their quarter-final clash.
O'Sullivan started brightly with breaks of 93 and 87 for a 2-0 lead, before Williams rallied with a run of 45 to cut the deficit.
But O'Sullivan, who is aiming to become the first player for 15 years to win three consecutive ranking titles, established a 3-1 interval lead with a cool century break in the fourth frame.
Williams compiled a 55 break to make it 3-2 before O'Sullivan added a break of 106 to restore his two-frame cushion.
Confident
A superb 128 break from Williams kept him in the fight, but O'Sullivan finished the job with a nerveless 78 run to progress.
Speaking after the match, O'Sullivan said: "It was a good match, I'm pleased with my level of performance. Mark is tough to beat and doesn't make it easy for you.
"He can make you sit in your chair for long periods so you have to score when you get the chance.
"I'm the oldest player in the tournament and there are many young and hungry players who can pot better than me, they are confident and believe they can win."
The last quarter-final to finish saw Glaswegian Maguire hold his nerve to beat Day in a tense final frame decider.
Day led 2-1, but Maguire pocketed breaks of 114 and 64 to keep his hopes of a Chinese double alive having won the China Open last season.
Breaks of 81 and 61 kept Day, last season's runner-up, in the hunt, but he missed his chance to clinch victory in the decider.
