Shaun Murphy battles past Ding Junhui in final-frame decider
Murphy punched the air after the dramatic finale to an error-strewn affair.
Shaun Murphy held his nerve to win a second consecutive final-frame decider and book his place in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in York.
Former world champion Murphy led 5-3 against three-time winner Ding Junhui but was hauled back to level before he seized his first chance to fashion a 6-5 win.
Murphy punched the air after the dramatic finale to an error-strewn affair and admitted afterwards that he felt fortunate to make it through.
“I feel a bit silly with that celebration at the end but it’s just emotional, it just comes out,” Murphy told the BBC.
“I couldn’t have given any more but if you make those mistakes you really don’t deserve to win the game.”
Ding, the runner-up in each of the last two years, came out firing with a break of 129 in the opening frame but errors from both players ensued and the pair summoned just one more half-century between them as they edged level at 3-3.
A long blue from Murphy took him two frames from victory before the match belatedly burst into life, a 135 from Murphy sparking a brilliant response from Ding, who fired consecutive centuries to force the final frame shoot-out.
Murphy credited former world champion Peter Ebdon, with whom he recently linked up to work on his psychological approach, for giving him the tools to ride out another nailbiting finale and book his place in the last eight.
“Composure is one of the things I’ve been working on, and I’m thrilled that Peter has helped me so far this week,” added Murphy.
“We all make mistakes, they aren’t anything new. It’s about learning to deal with them better and managing your expectations. That’s what the game is all about.”
Barry Hawkins followed up his first-round win over Ronnie O’Sullivan with a dramatic 6-5 victory over David Gilbert.
Gilbert led 5-4 and was on the verge of victory when he missed the green off its spot with frame and match at his mercy.
After seizing his chance to reach his third UK quarter-final, Hawkins said: “It’s more relief than anything.
“I thought it was a pretty decent game until Dave missed that green. He had it won there at 6-4, he threw it away really.
“I just tried to hold myself together at the end there and I’m absolutely over the moon to get through. I leapt out of my seat, I couldn’t believe it really. I thought I was going home.”
