O'Sullivan recovers from sloppy start

Ronnie O'Sullivan made a stuttering start before clicking into gear to open a 7-1 lead over Adrian Gunnell in the second round of the Powerhouse UK Championship at York.

The world number one was out of sorts early on in the match and sat for much of the fourth frame with his head in his hands.

But O'Sullivan was a different man after the interval and after easily winning the fifth frame the 'Rocket' launched into a spell of brilliance.

O'Sullivan fired in breaks of 128 and 109 to extend his lead to 6-1 before adding a scrappy eighth to leave himself only two frames from a place in the last 16.

Gunnell could muster a highest break of only 42 and missed a glut of chances in the early part of the match as he failed to put O'Sullivan under any pressure.

The same could not be said of renowned giant-killer Ali Carter who opened a surprise 5-3 lead over world number four John Higgins.

Carter sat out Higgins' 71 in the first frame but responded with runs of 61, 52, 62 and 65 as he claimed a shock 4-1 lead.

Higgins won the next on the black but was deep in trouble again when Carter secured the seventh to lead 5-2.

However Higgins threw himself a lifeline by winning the last of the session with an initial run of 58 and a later effort of 28 which came after Carter had missed the last red while attempting to clear up.