Higgins has the edge

May 3 2009

John Higgins was edging ahead of Shaun Murphy in the Betfred.com World Championship final as he looked to develop a handsome overnight lead.

The two-time former champion won three of the evening's opening four frames to steam into a 7-5 lead.

He went to the mid-session interval on the back of a break of 95, his highest in the early stages of the match.

With four frames remaining on the first day of the final, pre-match favourite Higgins had the chance to establish control.

He and Murphy had been tied at 4-4 after the afternoon session and at that stage the close contest which had been widely predicted looked to be materialising.

Higgins made a bright start with a break of 78 in the opening frame, and further runs of 33, 52 and 43 allowed him to develop a 3-0 lead.

Murphy reeled off the next four frames, with breaks of 58, 46, 41 and 109, but Higgins responded with a 50 which set him up to win the next.

He began the evening with a run of 57, and despite missing a tricky plant, which halted his break, soon had another chance and scored a frame-clinching 37.

A 52 from Murphy allowed him to take frame 10, but Higgins hit back and restored his one-frame advantage with breaks of 34 and 32.

Errors had been creeping into both players' performances, but there was no faulting Higgins' excellent 95 as he took full advantage of an early miss from his opponent in the 12th frame.