Selby hangs on in semi-final clash
Murphy failed to make the most of Selby's errors
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Thursday, 03, May 2007 11:12
Outsider Mark Selby remains in contention in World Championship semi-final after finishing day 5-3 down to Shaun Murphy
Mark Selby remains in contention in the World Championships semi-final after a doggedly-determined display ensured that he finished the evening session just 5-3 down on 2005 champion Shaun Murphy.
Having reached the last four of the competition for the first time in his career, the 23-year-old was caught cold by a rapid start from Murphy that saw the world number two whisk away the first two frames.
Selby stopped the rot by taking the third, but it proved only a temporary respite as Murphy rattled off the next three frames with breaks of 84, 101 and 55 to establish a commanding 5-1 lead.
There were enough chances for Murphy to stretch that advantage even further as Selby allowed him back to the table on several occasions in the seventh and eighth frames.
But on both occasions Selby managed to find his way to wins to stealthily close the gap on his opponent to just two frames.
The Crucible's other semi-final is all square after John Higgins clawed back a 3-1 deficit to finish the day tied on 4-4 with fellow Scot Stephen Maguire.
The sessions finished with the players sharing the spoils from two protracted, tactical frames after Higgins had cancelled out Maguire's early advantage with breaks of 113 and 68.