Higgins battles to level semi-final with Murphy

Higgins battles to level semi-final with MurphyImage source, PA MediaImage caption, John Higgins is appearing in his 12th Crucible semi-finalPublished6 minutes ago4 CommentsJohn Higgins produced a battling display to fight back from 3-1 down to draw level at 4-4 against Shaun Murphy in the opening session of their World Championship semi-final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.It was far from fluent from the four-time world champion, whose highest break of 50 gave him the eighth frame of the contest.Indeed, for most of Thursday afternoon he appeared to still be feeling the effects of his late-night quarter-final victory over Neil Robertson, as he failed to make a number of easy pots in an error-strewn showing.However, not for the first time in the tournament, he exhibited all his resolve and granite matchplay qualities that makes him such a dangerous opponent.Their best-of-33 encounter resumes on Friday at 10:00 BST, with the remaining last-four match, between China's Wu Yize and Northern Ireland's Mark Allen, starting at 19:00 on Thursday.England's Murphy, who won the world title in 2005, looked in total control when he enjoyed runs of 68, 69 and 100 to move 3-1 ahead at the mid-session interval.At that stage the world number eight appeared to be on the way to constructing a significant overnight advantage, but he too was guilty of several loose shots that allowed Higgins a route back in his 100th match at snooker's most prestigious venue.The Scot took two scrappy frames to get back to 3-3 and then responded again, with a 40 and a half-century in the final frame, to ensure he was not behind at the end of an opening session for the first time in this year's tournament.Related topicsSnooker