Stevens seals semi-final berth

Matthew Stevens wrapped up a 13-7 win over John Higgins today to book his place in the semi-finals of the Embassy World Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.

The world number six had established a 10-6 advantage last night after a superb session of snooker.

Stevens registered the highest break of tournament so far - a brilliant 145 clearance - before finishing well to leave himself just three adrift of a confidence-boosting win.

And the 24-year-old made the perfect start today when he clinched the opening two frames with impressive breaks of 71 and 72.

Higgins opened the third frame of the session with a 41 break and eventually cleared to the pink to reduce the deficit.

But Stevens clinched victory with a break of 80 to become the first semi-finalist.

Stevens was surprised with the manner of his victory, but understandably delighted.

He said: ‘‘I was surprised because of the way John played against Graeme Dott, when he was superb.

‘‘But I kept a lot of pressure on him, scored heavily and he missed a few balls.

‘‘If you put pressure on an opponent they have got to miss and John missed a few balls to let me in. To beat anyone like John is unbelievable.

‘‘Over long matches I can relax and I felt very comfortable up there.’’

Higgins said: ‘‘He played some great stuff, take nothing away from him. I was just disappointed I missed one important red at 4-4 and that turned the match.

‘‘That was my one disappointment, but he played great he totally outplayed me. I didn’t really know what was happening when I was 3-0 down yesterday morning.

‘‘I managed to dig in well and was pleased it was 4-4 at the end of the session. But the first frame of the second session turned the match on its head.’’