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A relieved Kyren Wilson beat Zhang Anda 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Masters at Alexandra Palace.
Wilson led 3-1 at the interval but failed to score a point in the next two frames as Zhang made breaks of 65 and 83 to get back on level terms.
A break of 69 edged Wilson back in front and although Zhang responded with a clearance of 141 – the highest in the tournament so far – Wilson took the next two frames to get over the line.
Despite the defeat, Zhang scored 275 more points than the reigning world champion in the match.
“Every credit to Zhang, I thought he played fantastic,” Wilson told BBC Sport.
“I’ve never seen such a consistent display of long potting and it wasn’t like I was leaving the same long one, it was a variety of different long shots he was nailing every time
“I was petrified every time a ball stuck out because he was potting it. I managed to do something right because I almost got him to punch the table!
“I just had to hang on in there and try to nick the odd frame. You’ve just got to hold your nerve, you can’t back away from a big shot. You’ve got to commit to it.
“I love playing here. I’ve had a couple of close calls over the past few years. I hate going out of this tournament early so hopefully it keeps going.”
Asked if winning the Masters would cement his status as the world champion, Wilson added: “I feel like I have already kind of done that.
“I’ve beat Judd Trump, who has been by far the best player in the world over the last couple of years, in two big finals, so I feel that kind of cemented that, but these are the ones you want to tick off.
“There’s no hiding place and obviously I want to win this tournament.”
