Ronnie O'Sullivan's revival stuns Robertson

O'Sullivan looked to be on his way out as his Australian opponent surged into a commanding lead with some scintillating snooker. But the four-time Masters champion showed his resolve to produce two centuries and three half-century breaks on his way to setting up a quarter-final clash with Peter Ebdon.

O'Sullivan admitted he was staring at the prospect of a thrashing before he hauled himself back into the match. "I wasn't surprised to be 3-0 down," he said. "It was just nice to score a few in the end so I could make a game of it as it could have been a whitewash.

"I didn't panic. You can't panic, that's rule number one, because if you panic it's a disaster. You have to stay patient and hope to catch a bit of momentum so you can put your opponent under pressure. I made just two out of ten long pots, and I think Neil will be disappointed to have been beaten by someone making just two of ten long pots."

A brilliant O'Sullivan break of 114 arrested Robertson's progress just before the mid-session interval before the Englishman reduced his arrears to one frame with a break of 57. The 34-year-old then levelled matters with a break of 87 before knocking off the colours in the seventh frame to take a 4-3 advantage.

Robertson, 27, appeared shell-shocked by his opponent's imperious progress but recovered his composure well in the next frame. Some of his early potting appeared shaky, but he soon settled down to clear the table with a magnificent 140 break.

But O'Sullivan would not be denied as a beautiful screw shot on the blue opened up the pack of reds to set up a clearance of 106 to move to within a frame of victory. Victory was confirmed when the Essex player prevailed following an early safety battle in the tenth frame, posting a break of 76.