Ronnie O'Sullivan admitted he was lucky to still be in this year's China Open after being taken the distance by Ali Carter today before securing a tense 5-4 win to book his place in the quarter-finals.
The Rocket won the opening frame, but then fell 4-2 behind to his opponent, leaving himself on the verge of a shock exit at the Beijing University Gymnasium.
But this season's SAGA Insurance Masters champion dug deep and sealed a spot in the last eight in the final frame.
'I was lucky, really,' said O'Sullivan. 'I expected Ali to win with the chances he had. He should have put me away. He'll be disappointed he hasn't won that match, but I wasn't playing well.'
Breaks of 46 and 53 helped O'Sullivan win the first frame of the pair's last 16 clash, before Carter won three frames on the spin – including a 100 break – for a welcome two-frame mid-session interval lead.
O'Sullivan reduced his arrears immediately after the restart with a 73 break, but Carter pocketed a cool 92 break to edge closer to the winning line.
Then O'Sullivan, a two-time China Open champion, responded by pinching the seventh 60-31, before adding breaks of 53 and 65 in the next two frames to secure his passage through.
He plays Hong Kong's Marco Fu, a World Championship semi-finalist last season, in tomorrow's quarter-finals.
'I've not slept for 24 hours, so maybe I was a bit loose. But the more chances I missed, the more confident I got,' added the two-time world champion.
Asked whether he thought he would win this year's £225,500 event, the world number three replied: 'I should have lost today, but I'm still here, although anyone can still win this tournament.
You're lucky if you can win one tournament in a season, but to win two would be fantastic.'
Fu, the last Asian contender remaining in this year's tournament, kept his army of supporters happy with a gutsy 5-3 win over Welshman Matthew Stevens. Breaks of 62, 57 and 63 did the damage, although Stevens impressed with runs of 61 and 65.
World champion Graeme Dott and last season's Masters and Grand Prix champion John Higgins will meet in the quarter finals after impressive victories.
Dott cruised to a 5-1 win over Australian Neil Robertson, this season's form player with two titles to his name already this year. But the winner of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix and the Welsh Open failed to find his rhythm, with Dott registering runs of 60, 118, 73 and 75 for a deserved 5-1 victory.
Higgins ended crowd favourite Jimmy White's run in the tournament with a 5-1 victory.
The Scot pocketed breaks of 76, 81, 52 and 43, while six-time Crucible runner-up White mustered a high break of just 38.
