Neil Robertson has the upper hand in his Tour Championship semi-final with Mark Selby after taking a 6-2 lead.
The Australian raced into a four-frame advantage at the start of the match and looked set to run away with the contest.
Selby regrouped after the interval, but Robertson was able to share the session and will return later on Friday requiring four frames for victory.
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After taking a scrappy opener, Robertson pounced on a safety error from Selby in the second frame and clinically compiled a break of 114, his 51st century of the season.
Selby was caught on camera rubbing his eyes between the second and third frames. He looked out of sorts at the table and a string of misses, notably a black into the bottom left pocket, allowed Robertson to extend his lead to 3-0.
Three-time world champion Selby was left in his seat after a poor break off in the fourth frame, as a 77 ensured Robertson took all four frames prior to the interval.
Selby went straight to the practice table during the interval and whatever he worked on appeared to have an impact as he returned from the break in better form and a contribution of 80 got him on the board.
Robertson was rock solid prior to the interval, but he made a mistake in the sixth frame and Selby stepped in with a break of 93 to cut the gap.
The 2010 world champion steadied the ship by taking the seventh frame thanks to a couple of solid contributions.
The eighth was in the balance as both missed chances, but it pivoted Robertson's way when Selby left a free ball in failing to get out of a snooker.
The 2019 runner-up did not wrap up the frame at the first time of asking and Selby fought hard for snookers. He got two of the three required, but Robertson survived the onslaught to secure a four-frame advantage heading into the evening session.
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