Hat-trick eludes Higgins

John Higgins failed to complete a hat-trick of maximum breaks but was still in top form as he reached the quarter-finals of the British Open today.

The Scot created snooker history on Wednesday by becoming the first player to make a 147 in successive matches.

But Higgins had to settle for breaks of 118 and 135 during his 5-2 defeat of Sussex pro Mark Davis.

“I would have loved to have made three in as many matches but I didn’t really get a chance,” Higgins said.

He was heading for a comfortable victory when he raced into a 3-0 lead but world number 35 Davis applied some pressure by recovering to 3-2.

However, runs of 42 and 63 helped Higgins over the line, although he was quick to stress that the hard work will start at the business end of the tournament.

“I was big favourite to win the two matches I’ve played here but it gets tougher all the way to the final,” he said.

“You can’t get away with anything slack against the better players in the way you can against the lower-ranked guys.”

Higgins last won a ranking title when he captured the 2001 British Open title.