Murphy dashes Zhao's hopes of lifting Crucible curse

Shaun Murphy dashed Zhao Xintong's hopes of lifting the Crucible curse with a superb 13-10 win as he moved into the semi-finals of the World Championship. Zhao, 29, had been aiming to become the only first-time winner to defend his crown since the tournament moved to the Crucible Theatre in 1977. However, he simply had no answer as the 43-year-old Englishman knocked in a barrage of pots to reach the last four for the sixth time. Murphy, who has made it his personal mission to repeat his success from 2005 when he claimed his one and only world title to date, got under way in style, fashioning a 96 break to edge into a 9-8 lead. While Zhao immediately responded with a 71, Murphy compiled breaks of 80 and 70 as he reeled off the next three frames to put himself on the cusp of victory against a player he lauded as the "best on the planet" earlier in the week. A composed run of 81 from Asia's first world champion took the contest to a 23rd frame. But when Murphy picked out a sublime red to the middle from the bottom of the pack he was able to construct a break of 69, and with Zhao unable to get the snooker he required, the 'Magician' wrapped up a famous triumph. In commentary, seven-time world champion described Murphy, who at one stage trailed 3-0 and lost the impetus on Tuesday evening, when Zhao fought back from 8-6 to 8-8, as delivering a "flawless" performance. …