Fu routs Ebdon in quarters

The man from Hong Kong was rarely tested as he opened up a 4-0 lead over the 2002 world champion courtesy of breaks of 91, 80 and 107 at London's Wembley Arena.

Ebdon could muster a high break of only 39 in a one-sided contest in which he failed to emulate any of the form that earned him a gruelling 6-5 win over third seed Ali Carter in the first round.

Ebdon, who has been struggling with a virus, was 14/1 to complete a recovery from his predicament at the mid-session interval from trailing 4-0, but that never looked likely.

Marco Fu is now dreaming of a "Chinese derby" against Ding Junhui in the final on Sunday. Ding faces Jamie Cope in the second semi-final on Saturday night.

"Right now, I'm dreaming of a Chinese derby," said Fu, who beat Ding 4-2 to claim the gold medal at the recent Asian Games. "I would love to play Ding in the final. Before I went out tonight, Ding said to me, 'I'll see you in the final'."

"He is one of the top three sportsmen in China. It would be great for Chinese snooker for us to meet in the final. There used to be a fierce rivalry between me and Ding because he had support in China while I had some small support in Hong Kong, but now we know each other a lot better. We are here to do our jobs, and we are really good friends.

"We support each other, and we are here to help each other. It is a very positive rivalry at the moment.

"I know China would love us to meet in the final. We met in the first round of the World Championship, and only 100million tuned in to watch it!

"I know though it will be tough to reach the final. I have a tough game against Mark, while Ding has a tough game. All I'm thinking about is the semi-finals. I can't afford to think too far ahead."

Ebdon lost a scrappy second frame, the type of frame he had to win if he was to have any chance of success as Fu closed it out with a 33.

Fu was also guilty of squandering chances, but he did enough to claim a scrappy fifth frame after a few more sloppy shots from Ebdon.

Ebdon's famed potting and tactical approach had deserted him as he began smiling at the crowd before the start of the sixth frame.

He was clearly resigned to his fate, and a run of 57 from Fu finished matters off.

Ebdon said afterwards: "I missed too many days of practice due to being ill, and I think that caught up with me tonight."

Fu, who lost to Stephen Lee in the semi-finals of the Masters three years ago, will face Allen in the last four on Saturday afternoon after the Northern Irishman overcame world champion Neil Robertson 6-4 earlier in the day.