Murphy lays down early marker against Zhao in world championship quarter-final

• Five frames in a row give Murphy 5-3 first session lead

• Robertson leads Higgins; Vafaei level against Wu

Shaun Murphy fought back against the defending champion, Zhao ­Xintong, to lead 5-3 after the opening session of their World Snooker Championship quarter-final at the Crucible.

Zhao had started with a break of 122 and soon moved 3-0 ahead. Former champion Murphy – who won his second-round match against Xiao Guodong with a session to spare – took the fourth frame after a composed break of 69 before the mid-session interval. Murphy then capitalised on Zhao’s break finishing at 56 to clinch the next after clearing the final five colours to further reduce the deficit.