John Higgins said Shaun Murphy “hits it like God” after the Scot missed out on a ninth World Snooker Championship final following a tense 17-15 defeat at the Crucible.
The 43-year-old Englishman twice overturned a two-frame deficit in the final session as he was forced to produce his best form to see off the 50-year-old four-time champion.
The match looked nailed-on for a decider until Higgins fluffed a black on a break of 50, gifting Murphy the chance to get over the line at the second attempt.
“The way Shaun hit the ball in that session was incredible,” Higgins told BBC Sport. “He just hits it like God.
“I’m disappointed, but what can you do. As you get older, your action starts to go a little bit at the most extreme points of the match.
“But, take nothing away, Shaun was awesome and he’s got a great chance of going on to win it for a second time.”
Resuming the final session 13-11 in arrears, Murphy started in scintillating fashion with two total clearances to haul level, only for Higgins to chisel out the next two to restore his two-frame lead.
Murphy’s fourth century of the match sparked another surge after the interval and, as Higgins began to miss some easy balls, the Englishman went into overdrive, winning the last four in a row to confirm victory.
China’s Wu Yize will face Murphy in Sunday’s final after Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen missed a simple black to secure victory before falling 17-16.
Murphy was full of praise for Higgins.
“I just came out today knowing, if I got my chances, I could score,” he said. “At the interval, I was just saying to myself, ‘you’ve done it before, now you can do it again’.
“But John Higgins – what a player and what a man. The harder it gets out there, the tougher he gets and the better he plays.
“If I’m half the player when I’m in my 50s, I’ll be very proud.”
