Higgins in action on Monday.
HIGGINS CLAWS BACK ADVANTAGE
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Former champion John Higgins recovered from a poor start to clinch a
commanding lead over Ian McCulloch at the Crucible on Monday afternoon.
Higgins, the 1998 winner, looked out of sorts when he fell 3-1 behind but won
the next five frames to secure a 6-3 overnight advantage.
The world number four is searching for his first ranking title since he won
the British Open in October 2001.
Last month, he came close to capturing the Irish Masters but was edged out
10-9 by Ronnie O'Sullivan in a thrilling final.
Higgins failed to reach the Regal Scottish Open final in Edinburgh last week
when eventual champion David Gray beat him in the semi-finals but he headed to
Sheffield as 4/1 joint second favourite with on-site bookmakers Ladbrokes.
McCulloch, the world number 43, who beat Gray 10-6 at Torquay last month to
qualify for only the second time, won the opening frame with a run of 59 and
limited the Scot to just two points in moving from 1-1 to 3-1.
McCulloch's 93 break in the fourth could have been a 143 but he missed a black
with two reds remaining.
Higgins had missed several balls and looked deep in trouble but dug himself
out of the mire by recording breaks of 95, 83 and 51 to claim the final five
frames of the session, moving to within four of a place in the last 16.
Higgins, who finished runner-up to O'Sullivan in 2001, has reached at least
the quarter-finals at the Crucible for each of the last seven years.
He was in irresistible form 12 months ago when he followed a 10-1 first round
victory over Thai number one James Wattana with a 13-2 thumping of compatriot
Graeme Dott.
Although his run in Dublin marked his only ranking event final this year,
Ladbrokes have taken a £5,000 bet from one hopeful punter at 1/10 for him to
beat McCulloch.
Sean Storey, the world number 62 from Grimsby who knocked out 13th seed Joe
Perry on Sunday, is waiting in the last 16.
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