Robertson cruises into Snooker China Open semis as Bingham crashes out

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Neil Robertson headed into the semifinal of World Snooker China Open on Friday while Stuart Bingham lost to Jack Lisowski 6-5 in the late night clash.

As the highest ranked player left, the World No. 7 Robertson made it 17 frames in a row to sweep Sam Craigie 6-0 following a quarters victory over China's Lu Ning 6-0 on Thursday. At the same time, Luca Brecel made three-century breaks to finish the match 6-1 against Alan McManus.

"Luka hasn't played at his best for the last 18 months but has improved a lot of things. He's much better now. Brecel is very attacking, which has made it very enjoyable for me to play," said Robertson.

He will face Brecel for a place in the final.

Four domestic players are all eliminated in Thursday's eighth-finals, Robertson shared his experience in the interview.

"When I was growing up, I played in many amateur competitions. I learned how to play technically and learned how to win the game while Chinese players turned professional at 16 that don't really get the schooling and experience once they get professional. It will probably take a bit longer to get into the top 16. It just depends on how they will improve themselves."

Still recovering from a long match with Li Hang last night, Jack Lisowski enjoyed a 3-0 start against Bingham. The 2015 World Championship winner then demonstrated tenacity to tie the game 5-5, almost turned the table in the decider before Lisowski made full use of his turnover to win 6-5.

Scott Donaldson had an early 4-1 lead before Ben Woollaston cut the deficit down to 4-5. In the 10th frame, Donaldson finished the match with a century break to order a semifinal berth.

China Open quarter-final results:

Neil Roberton 6-0 Sam Craigie

Luca Brecel 6-1 Alan McManus

Stuart Bingham 5-6 Jack Lisowski

Ben Woollaston 4-6 Scott Donaldson

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency