Snooker: O'sullivan and Higgins All Square After See-saw Session

After a see-saw opening session, the tournament favourites Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins will resume tomorrow level at 4-4 in their world championship quarter-final at the Crucible.

O'Sullivan, who came through a hard second-round match against Australia Neil Robertson yesterday, was caught cold in the opening frame and failed to put any points on the board as Higgins took it 91-0. But O'Sullivan hit back immediately with a break of 89 only for Higgins to take the next two frames before the interval.

The break proved to O'Sullivan's advantage as he wiped out the deficit on the resumption. That brought the best out of Higgins who produced the first century break of the match -110 - to go ahead again. O'Sullivan, the Masters champion, then dominated the eighth frame allowing the 1998 champion only eight points.

Ali Carter, the second-round conqueror of Stephen Hendry, faces a two-frame deficit against Mark Selby when they resume their quarter-final tomorrow morning. Carter came from behind three times in the first six frames but Selby finished powerfully with an unanswered break of 121 and then added the eighth frame 75-43 to lead 5-3.

Earlier, Matthew Stevens let slip a 3-0 advantage against Shaun Murphy as the opening session of their quarter-final finished 4-4. In their first meeting since Murphy defeated Stevens 18-11 in the 2005 final, the Welshman was quickly into his stride with frame-winning breaks of 46, 118 and 64.

Murphy set about reducing the deficit with a break of 82 and then took a ragged fifth frame 3-2. Stevens regained the initiative with his second century of the contest but Murphy replied with breaks of 33 and 89 in the next frame. Stevens then squandered the chance of taking a lead into the evening and Murphy held his nerve with a 33 to go into the break level.

On the other table a run of three frames gave Stephen Maguire the early advantage against Anthony Hamilton and he will resume this evening with a 5-3 lead. Hamilton had the better of the opening exchanges to go 3-2 ahead but Maguire, who made 106 in the third frame, replied with a break of 42 and a clearance of 25 in the sixth frame. He maintained the momentum with an 88 and then added the final frame of the morning.