体坛英语新闻： Ding advances into last eight at World Snooker China Open

BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese top snooker player Ding Junhui saw off world No. 10 Jonhn Higgins 5-2, making into last eight through the third round of World Snooker China Open here on Thursday.

Yu Delu was edged by defending champion Neil Robertson 5-4 in an earlier match, making Ding the only Chinese player to continue his trip at this tournament.

"I felt sort of relieved after building a 2-0 lead. He didn't play so well as I expected, making many mistakes in defense and position," said Ding.

As Ding said, he led by 2-0 with a break of 72 and 55 respectively early in the match, while suffering a strong comeback from Higgins, who had 103 points in a row in frame three and tied the score at 2-all into the interval.

Ding found his rhythm afterwards, as he took the next three frames to secure a quarter-final berth.

"I think he (Ding) played well. I missed three important balls, which I'm disappointed with," said Higgins.

Robertson almost squandered a 3-1 lead, as Yu took three frames in a row to get match point after the seventh frame.

However, Robertson proved his world No. 1 position with a top break of 91 to drag the match into the decisive ninth frame.

Yu was penalized for 15 points due to three fouls. Robertson hit the red successfully and handed a break of 60.

Yu was forced into snooker, while seeing the white into net. Robertson finally recorded a hard-won match with 79-32 in last frame.

"I come out late for one win again. I have won three 5-4s at this tournament, which is an unbelievable achievement for me," said Robertson.

In other matches, Graeme Dott eliminated Luca Brecel 5-2, Shaun Murphy lost to Ricky Walden 5-3, Allister Carter defeated Peter Ebdon 5-3, and Mark Selby overcame Jimmy White 5-1.