Snooker: Robertson Reins in the Rocket to Set Up Tense Finale

Neil Robertson showed why he has been the season's form player when he battled back from 8-3 down to draw level at 8-8 with Ronnie O'Sullivan in their second-round match at the Crucible today.

The Australian, the only man to have won two ranking titles in this campaign, will have felt unfortunate to have been 6-2 down after yesterday's opening session when he missed crucial pots to give a big advantage to 'The Rocket', who also enjoyed some luck. But the 'Melbourne Machine' was clearly unfazed by that disappointing start and after O'Sullivan had made 105 to extend his lead to five frames at 8-3, Robertson went on a run of five in succession with some brilliant break-building to give himself every chance for tonight's conclusion.

It needed a scrappy frame just before the interval for the 25-year-old to reduce his deficit to four, but after the break he restricted the two-time former champion to just 18 points. O'Sullivan did not trouble the scorer in frame 13 and then things just got better and better for Robertson, who knocked in a 53 and a 77 before rounding off the session with a superb total clearance of 140 - the highest break of the tournament so far.

On the other table, Mark Selby compiled three consecutive century breaks as he built a surprise 9-5 lead over 2002 champion Peter Ebdon. The match had been level at 4-4 overnight but Selby, seeking his first quarter-final appearance in this event, emulated a feat only O'Sullivan and John Higgins had achieved previously to pull clear.