Ali Carter whitewashes John Higgins to reach World Open semi-finals

It was only his fourth win over the Scotsman in 16 career meetings, and his first since a 4-2 win over the world number six in the PTC Grand final three years ago.

Two-times world championship finalist Carter - who has dropped to 31 in the rankings - made breaks of 101, 51, 98 and 51 against an opponent who struggled to find the level of consistency that helped him overcome Mark Williams 5-2 in the last 16.

It was a major disappointment for Higgins, who was appearing in his 100th ranking quarter-final.

Carter will face Thailand's world number 33 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who completed a 5-2 success against Scotland's Anthony McGill to reach the last four.

Un-Nooh had enjoyed wins over Alan McManus, world champion Mark Selby and Mark King to progress to this stage, and seems to be growing in confidence.

McGill ran in 80 in the opening frame, but knocks of 73 and 60 helped Un-Nooh move 3-1 clear.

A 60 from McGill was enough to reduce the deficit, but a run of 125 enabled Un-Nooh to move 4-2 clear, and he pinched the seventh frame on the black after McGill had broken down on 62 to continue to run to what could be a first ranking title.

In the later session, Neil Robertson saw off competition from David Gilbert - despite not looking his strongest - to beat him by five frames to two, booking himself a place in the semi-finals

Meanwhile, defending champion Shaun Murphy was knocked out of the competition by compatriot Joe Perry who came back from two-frame deficit to win the next five in a row and progress to the semi-finals.