Australia's master cueman Neil Robertson has produced a spectacular fightback to book a place in the semi-finals of snooker's World Grand Prix in Hong Kong and move ever closer to ensuring a seeded place back at the World Championships.
The 2010 world champion, who missed out on competing at the global championship for the first time in two decades last year, is now looking in good shape to return to Sheffield's Crucible for next month's showpiece after his 5-3 quarter-final win over Xiao Guodong on Friday.
It's set up 43-year-old Robertson's chance in the semi-finals to avenge a recent defeat by another veteran former world champ, 42-year-old Shaun Murphy, who defeated the Australian on his way to winning the prestigious Masters tournament in January.
The old rivals will go head-to-head on Saturday at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Arena, both with their eyes set on the Stg180,000 ($A369,000) winner's prize in the lucrative event.
And though both came into the week in danger of missing out on a top-16 seeding at the world championships, they're both now on course to nail down their places as they're guaranteed at least a £35,000 ($A72,000) pay day from their week's work as well as places in the Players Championship and Tour Championship.
For Robertson, it will be his first ranking semi-final since his English Open victory last September, and he had to do it the hard way after China's Xiao won the first two frames with breaks of 54 and 99.
A 92-break got the Melburnian off the mark but Xiao took a 3-1 lead, forcing Robertson to produce some vintage stuff.
He delivered runs of 80, 65, 101 and 80 in the next four frames to sweep them all and make it into his 52nd ranking semi-final, as he seeks to win a 25th ranking title.
"At 3-1 down I regrouped and came out strong," Robertson told the World Snooker Tour's official website.
"The only disappointing thing was missing the 147 chance (in the fifth frame when he's cleared 10 reds and blacks) because it would have been great to make one here. But I'm really pleased with the way I finished the match.
"Shaun and I are both having a good season. We're seeing the in-form players doing well this week so hopefully it will be the semi-final line-up that the crowds would have wanted to see."
In the other quarters, Judd Trump was imperious in compiling four centuries, including a 145 and a 146, as he hammered Hossein Vafaei 5-0 to set up a last-four contest with Stuart Bingham, who beat Mark Selby 5-4.
