Tour Championship 2022 - John Higgins in disbelief after one of 'best wins ever' in fightback against Zhao Xintong
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ByEurosport
Published 29/03/2022 at 08:18 GMT
"It’s a brilliant win, one of my best wins ever really, to come from 8-4 down against someone like Zhao Xintong." John Higgins was in disbelief after producing a remarkable display of snooker to fight back from four frames down to reach the semi-finals of the 2022 Tour Championship. He will play the winner of Thursday's tie between Judd Trump and Luca Brecel.
John Higgins
Image credit: Getty Images
John Higgins was in disbelief from claiming one of his "best wins ever" after fighting back from 8-4 down to beat Zhao Xintong 10-9 at the 2022 Tour Championship.
The veteran Scot looked miles from his best, falling four frames behind against an in-form Zhao.
But the tables slowly turned, and Higgins joked that he had to bring Zhao down to his level to stand a chance.
"He was playing like the world-class player he is and I was playing like a club player," he said.
"It was embarrassing. Me playing bad brought Zhao down to my level."
Indeed, Higgins was still making plenty of errors as he slowly reduced the deficit as Zhao's form faded and he struggled to build breaks.
The Chinese looked a different player to the one who had hit three centuries on his way to an 8-4 lead, and managed just 53 points as Higgins levelled the nail-biting match at 8-8.
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Higgins took the lead for the first time, and while Zhao briefly regained his confidence to force a decider, the four-time world champion took the famous win.
"I can’t believe I won it," he added. "I don’t know how I won it. My play wasn’t good all day. I'm delighted I’m through but I can’t believe it.
"You never give in but you think deep down it’s just not going today, you just can’t wait for him to finish you off."
"It’s a brilliant win, one of my best wins ever really, to come from 8-4 down against someone like Zhao."
Higgins progresses to the semi-final on Saturday where he will play the winner of Thursday's tie between Judd Trump and Luca Brecel, and he believes that a 'second life' in the tournament will serve him well ahead of the upcoming World Championship at the Crucible.
"It would have been difficult to play at the Crucible after a big defeat, bad vibes," said Higgins.
"But now I have a second life here I can go home, practise, put some hours on the table, then come back and give Judd or Luca a game on Saturday. I’m really lucky."
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