O'Sullivan crashes out of Welsh Open

Ronnie O’Sullivan crashed out of the Welsh Open today as he surrendered a 3-1 lead to lose 5-3 to Marco Fu.

O’Sullivan looked to be in control at the mid-session interval but Fu rattled off four frames in a row to book his place in the quarter-finals.

Fu will now face either John Higgins or Neil Robertson, who clash this evening at the Newport Leisure Centre.

O’Sullivan was not at his fluent best but took a 2-0 lead nevertheless, before, with the reds spread far and wide, Fu hit back with a 117 total clearance in the third frame.

The Rocket missed a routine red with the rest only two balls from sealing the fourth, another scrappy frame, but recovered to establish a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval.

O’Sullivan put himself in the driving seat in the fifth with an excellent long opener before over-cutting a tough red to let Fu back in, the Hong Kong player taking a frame back with some fluid potting.

The Englishman opened frame six with a stunning red down the cushion before switching hands to play an awkward blue but an inexplicable miss on a simple pink again let in Fu, who took full advantage, clearing up to level.

Fu was really hitting his stride now and he picked out a long red at the start of the seventh. Both players had chances before Fu clinched the frame to edge 4-3 ahead.

And the man from Hong Kong finished things off in style, compiling a faultless 115 break to seal his place in the last eight.

Ali Carter was made to battle by Graeme Dott before seeing off the resilient Scot 5-4.

The pair exchanged frames early on, before Carter’s 119 break gave him a 2-1 lead.

The Captain looked like steamrollering his opponent when he moved comfortably into a two-frame lead at the interval, but Dott battled back with runs of 42 and 63 upon resumption.

Dott then levelled by snatching a seesaw sixth, but Carter showed his fluency to again edge ahead.

Once more Dott fought back with a 64 break to send the match into a decider, but Carter raced into a 76-point lead which this time proved to be enough.

Carter will meet either Mark King or Shaun Murphy in the quarters.