DEFENDING champion Zhao Xintong moved closer to cracking the so-called Crucible Curse by booking his place back in the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship with a 13-9 win over compatriot Ding Junhui.

Zhao shrugged off some evident nerves to build on a 9-7 overnight advantage despite losing an error-strewn, 46-minute opener that saw Ding temporarily reduce the arrears to a single frame.

The 29-year-old — looking to become the first first-time winner to retain his title at the Crucible — capitalised on a series of misses by his opponent to pull away, a break of 108 in the penultimate frame helping seal a last eight clash with Shaun Murphy.

“Today I think there was more pressure,” Zhao told BBC Sport. “I know Ding didn’t play very well in the last session but the pressure is very big. This year I just don’t want to lose any match so it feels very different.”

Mark Selby started off with two centuries but was forced to claw back from behind to ensure a high-quality opening session of his second round match against Wu Yize ended all-square.

Four-time champion Selby threatened to overwhelm his 22-year-old opponent with breaks of 124 and 129 in the first two frames before Wu summoned a brilliant response by reeling off the next three in a row.

The duo split the next two before Wu’s early sniff at a 147 was ended by a bad kick on a red, and Selby reeled in a 44-point deficit to ensure they returned for the second session last night level at 4-4.