Scottish Open: Marco Fu fights back to stun John Higgins in final in Glasgow

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Marco Fu plays a shot at the recent UK Championship Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Marco Fu hit 11 centuries and 20 other breaks over 50 during the tournament

Marco Fu fought back from 4-1 down to beat John Higgins and win his third ranking title with a 9-4 Scottish Open final victory.

The Hong Kong player won eight frames in a row to claim his first ranking event since the 2013 Australian Open.

The Scot, 41, began with three straight centuries and a 78 break to go 4-1 up, but Fu won three frames to level it.

He took the first four before the evening session interval and sealed victory after play resumed.

"I played great at the start and was feeling good but from 4-1, Marco just totally froze me out and played fantastically," said world number three Higgins.

'I just can't believe I am the champion'

Four-time world champion Higgins had been hoping to move clear of Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan's 28 ranking titles in the overall list behind Stephen Hendry's record of 36.

For Fu, this was his ninth victory in 15 career meetings and his second ranking title in Scotland, having won his first at the Grand Prix in Aberdeen in 2007.

He hit his 11th ton of the week to get to 3-1 and had runs of 89, 59, 59 and 60 in the second session.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

John Higgins played flawless snooker early on but had no answer to Fu's fightback

"The way John started the match I thought it was going to be 9-1 or 9-2," said the world number 14, who collected a winning cheque for £70,000 and was presented with the inaugural Stephen Hendry Trophy by the seven-time world champion himself.

"In a short spell I think I kind of dragged John down to my standard a little bit, and those three frames from 4-1 to get to 4-4 were very crucial.

"I was feeling over the moon after the first session, and tonight I played much better match snooker.

"I just can't believe I am the champion. In the first part of the season I was really struggling but I somehow found some form at the UK Championship [where he reached the semi-finals] and now I have won 15 out of 16 matches. It is probably the best win of my career."