Marco Fu to fight for final berth against O'Sullivan at UK Championship

Marco Fu fought back from 5-2 down to beat Welshman Jamie Jones to reach the semifinals of the snooker UK Championship in York on Friday.

Fu, from Hong Kong, China, will next meet Ronnie O'Sullivan, who defeated Mark Williams 6-2 in the day's another match.

Jones looked set to reach the second ranking semifinal of his career when he built a 5-2 lead with top breaks of 58, 70, 54 and 69. His best chance to win came at 5-3 but he ran out of position on a break of 33. Fu hit back to take that one, then made a 75 in the next for 5-5 and dominated the decider, winning it 76-0.

"It's the first time in my career that I have got to the semifinals of a big tournament playing my B or C game," said Fu to Worlds Snooker's official website. "I'm very surprised to still be here, the way I am playing. I need to improve dramatically.

"My experience played a part tonight. Jamie was suffering when he saw the winning line and made some mistakes. I saw that weakness and took advantage.

"It's always special playing Ronnie so to meet him in the semis of the UK will be a great occasion for me. I just hope I can produce my best."

World number one Mark Selby labored to beat John Higgins of Scotland 6-5, setting up a semifinal showdown with sixth seed Shaun Murphy, a 6-1 winner over Belgium's Luca Brecel.

The semifinals will take place on Saturday and the winner be decided on Sunday. Endit