Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan maintained his decade-long dominance over Steve Davis to reach the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open in Newport today.
'The Rocket' was not at his best but did enough to score a 5-3 victory over the six-times world champion, who has not beaten him since the 1998 Masters.
Since then, O'Sullivan has put together a 14-match unbeaten run against Davis, which remained intact despite problems with his cue-tip he refused to discuss after the match.
The result transported the consistent O'Sullivan into a seventh consecutive world ranking event quarter-final and the 74th of his career.
"It was good to get over the line. It's all good in the hood," said a smiling O'Sullivan, who before despatching 50-year-old Davis, sent 18-year-old Judd Trump packing in the second round.
"I want to just keep ticking over, getting to quarters, semi-finals, finals and nicking the odd title. I'm not greedy.
"The great thing with me at the moment is that I'm enjoying my snooker, not just matches but my practice as well.
"I have done for quite a while and it feels like a hobby again," added O'Sullivan, already winner of the Premier League and UK Championship this season.
When O'Sullivan stormed through the opening two frames with stylish breaks of 72 and 88, Davis looked to be heading for a heavy and rapid defeat.
However, the veteran took the third frame with a run of 63 and was poised to add the next for level terms until, 55 to the good, he missed a straightforward red to a middle pocket and O'Sullivan pounced with a 68 clearance.
"That gave me some leeway. 3-1 or 2-2 was a big difference. It was a turning point," admitted O'Sullivan, who then stole a scrappy fifth frame on the blue before temporarily losing focus.
Davis rallied to 4-3 but after potting only one ball in frames six and seven, O'Sullivan rediscovered his range with a 69 break to move on.
Mark Selby, surfing the crest of a wave of confidence after winning the Saga Insurance Masters at Wembley last month, also made the quarter-finals thanks to his 5-2 victory over Ken Doherty.
Selby, who also reached the World Championship final last year, could hardly be more upbeat.
"My game's in the best shape it could possibly be. After the Crucible and Wembley I've got all the confidence in the world," said the 24-year-old. "I was impressed with myself. I've more or less carried on the way I played at the Masters. It's a tremendous feeling."
Exploiting virtually every opportunity afforded him against the Dubliner, Selby fired in breaks of 71, 66, 60 and 114 to build a 4-1 lead.
Doherty, renowned as one of the sport's most tenacious fighters, briefly came to life when he erased a 50-point deficit in frame six with a stubborn 92 clearance.
That was that, though, as far as the Irishman's comeback was concerned as Selby controlled the seventh frame to set up a meeting with China's Ding Junhui or world champion John Higgins.
Joe Perry, in outstanding form en route to hammering number seven seed Peter Ebdon 5-1 in the previous round, remained fluent during his 5-2 win over Stuart Bingham.
World number 18 Perry compiled breaks of 59, 107 and 115 - the latter two in back-to-back frames. He now faces Shaun Murphy or Mark Williams.