Robertson leaves Carter trailing

World Snooker Championship
Date: 17 April-3 May 2010 Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
Coverage: Live coverage each day on BBC Two, BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website (UK only), updates on BBC Radio 5 Live. Full TV schedule

By Mark Ashenden BBC Sport in Sheffield

Robertson defeated Steve Davis 13-5 in the quarter-finals

Australia's Neil Robertson made a blistering start to his World Championship semi-final against Ali Carter, racing into a 6-2 lead.

Robertson, 28, took a scrappy opener before winning the next four frames, with breaks of 124, 91 and 76.

Englishman Carter, the 2008 runner-up, looked shell-shocked before hitting back with two of the last three frames, finishing with a break of 69.

Graeme Dott and Mark Selby kick off the other semi-final on Thursday evening.

Two hours before the first semi-final the Crucible was mesmerised as Steve Davis, 24 hours after his quarter-final loss to Robertson, and Dennis Taylor played a one-frame rematch 25 years after their epic world final - Taylor once again winning on the final black.

606: DEBATE Will Carter overcome the deficit to make the final?

When the serious action started, Carter seemed to be suffering the effects of his late-night, last-frame win over Shaun Murphy and was dominated by the provisional world number four for the majority of the first session.

Having enjoyed a longer rest after beating Davis on Wednesday, Robertson hit top gear after coming through a nervy opening frame that had everything - shocking misses, phones going off, a fluked red and sensational long pots.

Both players missed a hatful of chances but it was the 2009 Grand Prix winner who edged it and he soon made it 2-0 with a fabulous century break in 13 minutes - his third of the tournament.

Surprisingly, it was only the 54th century at the Crucible this year, way down on the record 83 last year.

More misery followed for this season's Welsh Open runner-up when he lost the third frame, with Robertson getting the one snooker required before stealing it on the black.

It was a devastating blow for Carter, and breaks of 91 and 76 soon made it 5-0. But the Essex cueman, much to the delight of the audience, pulled one back with a break of 40.

The 30-year-old had chances in the majority of the opening frames, only to see his opponent regularly strolling back to the table to destroy all hope of a recovery with his phenomenal long potting.

A 52 stretched the lead to 6-1, but Carter gave himself a much-needed boost by taking the last frame with a fine run of 69 - his highest break of the best-of-33 encounter so far.

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