World champion and world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan is closing in on a place in this year's Roewe Shanghai Masters final after victory over Mark Williams on Friday.
The Rocket impressed with a 5-3 quarter-final win over the Welshman at the Grand Stage and will now play Scotland's Stephen Maguire in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Maguire held his nerve and fought back from 2-1 down to edge another Welshman, Ryan Day, 5-4 in their quarter-final clash.
"It was a good match, I'm pleased with my level of performance," said O'Sullivan. "Mark is tough to beat and doesn't make it easy for you.
"He can make you sit in your chair for long periods so you have to score when you get the chance.
"I'm the oldest player in the tournament and there are many young and hungry players who can pot better than me, they are confident and believe they can win.
"But my break-building is there and if I get some momentum I can be tough to beat."
O'Sullivan started brightly with breaks of 93 and 87 for a 2-0 lead, before Williams rallied with a run of 45 to reduce his arrears.
But O'Sullivan, who is aiming to become the first player for 15 years to win three consecutive ranking titles, established a 3-1 interval lead with a cool century break in the fourth frame.
Williams compiled a 55 break to make it 3-2 before O'Sullivan added a break of 106 to restore his two-frame cushion.
A superb 128 break from Williams kept him in the fight, but O'Sullivan finished the job with a nerveless 78 run to progress.
Williams said: "It was an excellent game and it could have gone either way. I played well but Ronnie makes breaks from nowhere.
"He's probably the best player ever. I'm disappointed because I've won a few tournaments in China and if I'd got through the match tonight I could have gone on to win this one.
"If I keep playing like that I've got every chance of getting back in the top 16 for next season. Going to Pontin's (Holiday Park in Prestatyn, to qualify for events) is hard but it's something you've got to do."
The last quarter-final to finish saw Glaswegian Maguire hold his nerve to beat Day in a tense final-frame decider.
Day led 2-1, but Maguire pocketed breaks of 114 and 64 to keep his hopes of a Chinese double alive having won the China Open last season.
Breaks of 81 and 61 kept Day, last season's runner-up, in the hunt, but he missed his chance to clinch victory in the decider.
Maguire added: "It was no different to my first two games. I've been very lucky here because no-one has played well against me, and usually if I played like that I'd be out in the first round.
"I've just been falling over the line. But at least I'm in the semi-finals now, I can look forward to it and hope to step my game up a couple of gears."
Day admitted he let Maguire off the hook.
"Neither of us were fantastic, there were a few scrappy frames," he said. "I played well in my first two matches but I didn't feel sharp tonight.
"I had a good chance in the last frame but something went through my mind at the wrong time and I missed the blue."
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