Neil Robertson overcame early jitters to produce a spirited display and pull level with Mark Selby in their World Championship semi-final at the Crucible, ahead of the final session.
With a final showdown against Ronnie O'Sullivan at stake, Selby twice saw an advantage wiped out by the 2010 champion to leave the scores poised at 12-12, as the pair fought out an extended early session that spilled well into afternoon and proved compelling viewing for the fans packed into the Sheffield venue.
Selby started the day with a 9-7 lead and immediately pushed that out to three frames with a superb show of skill, leading to a break of 104 and the threat of it being a one-sided morning.
However, Robertson settled his nerves with a break of 85 to pull one back, before the Crucible crowd was treated to two intense frames that swung things in the Australian player's favour.
Frame 19 lasted 51 minutes as both players fought for the upper hand. Yet it was Robertson who slowly totted up the points and - although Selby threatened a comeback with a break of 38 - a few more telling pots from the world No1 left his opponent needing snookers, which the man from Leicester could not produce.
That left Robertson just one frame behind and the scores were level at 10-10 after another compelling 45-minute tussle, which again left Selby needing snookers, but unable to oblige.
The comeback sparked memories of the UK Championship final last December - when the Australian overturned a 5-1 deficit to beat his English opponent - but Selby seemed to have learned from that, and he returned after the mid-session interval in a composed state to take the next two frames, including a break of 73, and regain the advantage.
Yet Robertson once more halted the momentum of the 2007 Crucible runner-up, claiming the next frame thanks to a break of 64 before capitalising on some poor shots from Selby to ensure a level playing field ahead of Saturday night's conclusion.
As Selby and Robertson slugged it out, with a late-night finish looking inevitable, O'Sullivan was left to enjoy a leisurely day.
The defending champion planned to go running, have a practice, and enjoy some fine dining locally, initially winding down before building himself up for his sixth World Championship final, aiming to preserve his 100% record in Crucible showpieces and complete a back-to-back hat-trick.
"It's a dream to be here three times on the spin," said O'Sullivan, who beat Barry Hawkins 17-7, with a session to spare, in this year's other semi-final.
"I feel fresh as a daisy. I'm not sure if it's that I haven't had a lot taken out of me in the last two matches. I only feel like I get stronger as the tournament goes on. It can be tiring mentally, but I feel fresh."
O'Sullivan is reluctant to talk up his chances of another triumph on Monday. 'That's all it is: a chance," he said, adding sarcastically: "Because I've got a really easy match in the final!"
Speaking after his win over Hawkins, O'Sullivan told World Snooker that he was in the right frame of mind to cope with the coming pressures. "I'm mentally equipped to be able to deal with the pressures of playing in a final."
Original Post by: http://ift.tt/1lLB0b4