Former world champion Shaun Murphy emerged victorious after being 4-2 down to end in-form Jack Lisowski's run with three straight frame wins, getting through the quarterfinals at the snooker China Open on Friday.
The 21-year-old Lisowski, world No. 42, tendered one of the most spectacular performances by shocking world No. 1 Judd Trump and Mark Davis in the first two rounds, and he appeared to take the control of his first ranking event quarterfinals when he was ahead Murphy 4-2, however he got rid of the concluding three frames.
Murphy, former world champion, fought back to tie 4-4 with breaks of 40 and 48, and figured out the scrappy decider to set up a semifinal clash against Mark Selby, who nailed an easy 5-1 win over Mark Williams.
"There's a fine line between winning and losing and I had a bit of luck at the right time," said 30-year-old Murphy. "Jack is a player we're going to see a lot more of in the next ten or 15 years - we have glimpsed the future this week.
Selby has maintained his world ranking back to top slot when the list is released next week due to the early exit of Trump. The Leicester cueist grabbed the first frame and Williams leveled the score after frame two. Selby then won four games in a row with magnificent runs of 64 and 72.
"My performance is not as good as what I expect. I missed a lot of shots, but my opponent also gave me more chances," said Selby.
During the evening session, world No. 3 Neil Roberston regaled a 5-2 victory over Marcus Campbell, and next gets in touch with Stephen Maguire in Saturday's semifinal after the last year's runner-up beat Stuart Bingham 5-1.
Murphy, yet to win a title this season, was successful after breaks of 41 and 36 in the decider.
Neil Robertson pounded Marcus Campbell 5-2 to set up a semi-final against Stephen Maguire.
Maguire was also a 5-1 winner against Barry Hawkins, who had surprised the Chinese crowds in the first round by eliminating out Ding Junhui.
Left-hander Lisowski, who had already ousted world number one Judd Trump and Mark Davis went ahead actually in an entertaining encounter with Murphy, courtesy of a 62 in the opening frame.
However, it was Murphy who levelled with a high-class 137 and added the third on the final black.
Lisowksi, 21, recorded a 71 to square the match and then got hold of the first two frames after the interval.
But he was bereft of confidence to get chances as breaks of 40 and 48 helped Murphy level again, before he pulled away in the final frame.
"There's a fine line between winning and losing and I had a bit of luck at the right time," 30-year-old Murphy admitted.
"Jack is a player we're going to see a lot more of in the next 10 or 15 years - we have glimpsed the future this week. People better learn how to say his name properly because he's going to be around for a long time."
