Londin, Jan 12 (IANS): World No.1 Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the semifinals at the Snooker Masters after defeating Barry Hawkins 6-3.
O'Sullivan, 48, trailed behind Hawkins 3-2, but took the following four frames in a row to seize a last four berth at the prestigious invitation event for the first time since 2019, reports Xinhua.
O'Sullivan was far from his best, but Hawkins squandered too many chances.
"At the end I said 'sorry' to Barry because it was so bad," O'Sullivan was quoted by the World Snooker Tour website. "If I had played better then I'm sure he would have too and it would have been a good game. But it often seems that when I play badly, the other guy plays even worse."
The seven-time champion O'Sullivan will face Shawn Murphy next as the world No. 6 saw off Jack Lisowski 6-3.