Snooker: Davis Into Quarters

The fulfilment of Steve Davis's one remaining ambition in the game moved a step nearer as he defeated the current world champion Graeme Dott 5-3 to reach today's quarter-finals of the Welsh Open in Newport. Having won six world, six UK and three Masters titles in his prime, Davis's target is a top-16 ranking at the age of 50, a milestone he will reach in August.

Two more match wins here, in the China Open and in the World Championship should be enough to insure against regular trips to Prestatyn for qualifying competitions. "I started my career there but I don't want to finish it there," he said.

"That's the best I've seen Steve play for a very long time," said Dott. "You always expect a tough match against him. His safety is good all the time but he scored heavily as well."

Breaks of 82, 69 and 76 accounted for Davis's 3-1 lead before the match settled into more prolonged tactical exchanges.

Ronnie O'Sullivan rounded off his 5-1 win over Mark Selby with breaks of 100 and 80, and Shaun Murphy remained on course to join the select band of players who have prevailed in back-to-back ranking tournaments by beating Jamie Burnett, a qualifier from Scotland, 5-4 after a 3hr 48min marathon. With the exception of the fourth frame, in which Murphy compiled a 134 break, the match contrasted starkly with his 5-0 win over Jamie Cope in the previous round, which had four consecutive centuries.