\n<\/p>\n
In the evening session, three-time UK champion Higgins and 2008 winner Murphy won their matches to set up what promises to be one of the best last-16 matches.<\/p>\n
“Winning is all that matters,” said Murphy following his 6-2 win over Lyu, a victory that saw the Englishman win five frames in a row as he recovered from 2-1 down.<\/p>\n
“It’s just like the World Championship in the first round. I watched every single ball of [qualifying] Judgement Day, I love it, then you realise you’re going to play one of these guys that are really sharp, match fit and they have a fair crack at it.<\/p>\n
“I played nicely in parts, a few mistakes, but delighted to get through and the small matter of John Higgins next.”<\/p>\n
Higgins and Mark Williams are already 50 years old, with Ronnie O’Sullivan reaching that landmark on Friday, and Murphy felt the trio were a snooker inspiration.<\/p>\n
“What they continue to achieve, spurring each other on, is remarkable,” added Murphy, 43. “John has been a big help in my career, I watched him a lot and I just hope I don’t have to watch him too much in the next round.<\/p>\n
“It has shown what the rest of us can do if you keep your heads down. When I first started playing snooker, you thought your career would be over by 40, but they have been the trailblazers.”<\/p>\n
Higgins won two frames against Woollaston on the black and made five half-century breaks during the match.<\/p>\n
“Ben will be kicking himself. He should have won frames two and three, I made some good clearances,” said Higgins<\/p>\n
“I played Shaun in China and I managed to win, but he beat me the last couple of times before that. He hits the ball like an absolute dream so I hope it’s a good game.<\/p>\n
“Winning the Masters [in January] has given him extra confidence and he is so dangerous when he is playing well. It’s Scotland against England.”<\/p>\n
Earlier on, Si became the first man through to the last 16 after making easy work of Wales’ Ryan Day with a 6-0 victory in just over two hours.<\/p>\n
The Welshman failed to register a single point in four of those six frames, scoring only 55 points in total compared to 521 from Si, who made breaks of 61, 80 and 68.<\/p>\n
Sixteenth seed Si also potted 151 balls, with only 16 from Day, whose highest break of the afternoon was only 22.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n