Fu stuns Ding to reach last four

Hong Kong's Marco Fu Ka-chun moved closer to winning his second major title this season when he pulled off a shock win over the mainland's world number eight Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals of the British Masters at Wembley Arena.

Fu, who won his first title in his professional career last November - the Royal London Watches Grand Prix - stormed to a 6-3 victory over Chinese ace Ding to book his berth in the semi-finals of the game's most prestigious invitation tournament. Fu will now meet Englishman Stephen Lee. 'I'm very pleased with the result because Ding is so dangerous,' Fu (pictured) was quoted as saying on the World Snooker website. 'I had to step up a gear and I was very pleased with the way I played under pressure. I'm enjoying the pressure, which is the most pleasing thing.'

The millions of TV viewers - in China and Hong Kong as well as in Britain - were treated to a superb performance from the 30-year-old Fu, who refused to let the more-fancied Ding get out of range.

The first four frames were shared. Ding won the fifth to take a 3-2 lead and was all set to extend it to 4-2 before a missed black allowed Fu back into the match. The Happy Valley cueman took full advantage of the opportunity and the momentum swung his way.

'Missing that black in the sixth frame proved costly for me,' said the 20-year-old Ding.

'I felt a lot of pressure because I know Marco's game so well. I was nervous all through the match because of the expectations.'

Fu won the sixth frame with a superb clearance of 62 to initiate a run of 262 unanswered points. Breaks of 86 and 51 put him 5-3 ahead and he opened frame nine with a 41.

A safety error from Ding allowed Fu back in to seal victory.