Stephen Maguire revealed a bout of tonsillitis nearly forced him to pull the plug on his Masters challenge after recording a stunning victory against world number Neil Robertson at Alexandra Palace, London, last night.
Maguire did not look like a man who was fighting illness after he held his nerve – and a brief Robertson comeback – to bag the final three frames for a 6-2 win in the quarter-finals.
A mouth-watering tie with Ronnie O’Sullivan awaits today after the Rocket blew away Ricky Walden 6-0 in 58 minutes, racking up 556 unanswered points – a record in the professional game. Maguire, who is on the road to recovery, is relishing the challenge.
“I had plans to hit the practice table for the last four days but I’ve actually been in bed for the last couple of days and I was close to pulling out last night,” said Maguire.
“I feel a lot better.
“(Ronnie) was pretty good; I saw a couple of frames and spoke to Ricky afterwards. He said he couldn’t do anything; Ronnie never gave him a chance.”
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