Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams fight back for victory

Even self-deprecating Ronnie O'Sullivan could not disguise a degree of satisfaction after beating Stephen Maguire 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of the 12Bet.com World Open in Glasgow. Maguire, supported by a vociferous hometown crowd, led 1-0 and 51-0 in the second frame when O'Sullivan embarked on a tide-turning 81 clearance before sailing through the next two with breaks of 116, 62 and 62 again. "I didn't make a telling shot until the clearance, then my mindset switched. I don't know why. Everybody tries to work me out but it's impossible. I can't work myself out," said O'Sullivan, who will now play Peter Ebdon. "Thank God its only five frames. Best of 35 against him would ruin you," quipped O'Sullivan, the antithesis of Ebdon, who is a quintessential grinder. Mark Williams, a feelgood story in a sport badly in need of them, continued his rejuvenation from washed-up has-been to fully restored title contender by beating Ding Junhui 3-2. As Christmas 2007 approached, Williams slumped to 47th in the provisional world rankings, his glory days of Crucible, Masters and UK Championship triumphs replaced by a series of demoralising defeats by inferior opponents. Williams, twice world champion, was at a career crossroads. Having realised moping around was achieving nothing, the Welshman rededicated himself to practice and six months ago took his most significant recovery step by winning the China Open in Beijing. His victim that day was Ding Junhui and in Glasgow today, China's leading player again fell victim to Williams, who became the first player in 36 matches at the World Open, with its sprint distance matches, to overturn a 2-0 deficit. "I was so low three years ago. There are times now I have to pinch myself that I'm back," said Williams, 35. Ding had two opportunities to win the closing frame but squandered both, first with a clumsy positional shot, the second by missing the green to a middle pocket.