Shaun Murphy could barely contain his disbelief after a remarkably fortunate shot against Zhao Xintong during their battle for the semi-finals at the World Snooker Championship. The Englishman was faced with a tricky approach to the red with the score standing at 53-45 in the sixth frame.
Yet with a stroke of pure luck, Murphy barely caught the red and left Xintong with an extraordinarily fortunate snooker to navigate. Despite the remarkable outcome, the 43-year-old seemed visibly embarrassed by the result, shaking his head and throwing his arms up in exasperation.
Murphy then appeared to offer an apology off-camera to his opponent, a gesture which commentator Steven Hallworth picked up on during coverage. The 30-year-old highlighted the moment on the BBC broadcast, remarking: "Well, he's apologised there Shaun. That cue ball, he believes, didn't travel on its intended path but goodness me what an outcome he's had. There's the reaction. That wasn't for show I assure you. He thought he butchered the safety but it worked out a treat."
Xintong did manage to beat the snooker and locate the red, with the sportsmanlike gesture warmly received from the defending champion. Scottish snooker icon Stephen Hendry noticed the display of fair play and offered his thoughts.
He said: "I love again how there was absolutely no drama there from Zhao Xintong. A lot of players would have been shaking their head and wouldn't be happy with that fluke that Shaun just got, but he just got on with it."
Murphy levelled the scores at 3-3, leaving the match perfectly poised heading into the next session. Xintong had raced into a 3-0 lead at the outset, but allowing the Englishman back into contention has ensured the tension will continue to build throughout the afternoon.
Murphy got away with one on the table. The 2005 world champion capitalised on his good fortune to edge out two more extremely tense frames. The English star went into the interval 5-3 up as both players struggled to find their flow as the afternoon went on.
Whoever emerges victorious from this clash will face the winner of John Higgins versus Neil Robertson. Higgins delivered a stunning performance to send Ronnie O'Sullivan crashing out in the last 16. Robertson, meanwhile, powered his way to a 13-7 victory over Chris Wakelin and will square off against a buoyant Higgins later this afternoon.
