Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre

The big question this afternoon is how John Higgins will fare after his epic 13-12 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan on Monday.

The four-time world champion tried to play things down in his post-match press conference yesterday, talking about how he needed to start from scratch again today - but just how much is left in the well?

The 50-year-old is rightly considered as one of the game's all-time greats and can beat anybody, but Robertson is equally revered in many quarters for his superb technique and dispatched Chris Wakelin in far less emotionally draining circumstances.

Australia's Robertson, who triumphed in Sheffield in 2010, defeated Higgins at the Champion of Champions, although the Scot won their most recent meeting at the Players Championship.

Four-time world champion John Higgins won a Crucible classic against seven-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round yesterday.

The 50-year-old will take on Australia's Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals.

It is amazing that, for a player of his unquestionable ability, Robertson has only ever reached one final at the Crucible - when he won the world title in 2010 - and has not got to a semi-final since 2014.

Iran's Hossein Vafaei was the only qualifier to make it through the first round at the Crucible this year and then caused a big upset by knocking out world number one Judd Trump in a deciding frame in the second round on Monday.

His quarter-final opponent is highly-rated Chinese player Wu Yize, the 10th seed.

Wu beat four-time champion Mark Selby in round two. Afterwards, Selby said 22-year-old Wu is "a world champion in the making".

Image source, PA Media

We're back after that brief interlude - and here's what's coming up over the next few hours for you.

A real contrast on the two tables.

One quarter-final featuring two players who have been here, done it, got the T-shirt (and the trophy).

And the other a meeting between relative new kids on the block when it comes to the Crucible.

Both should be fascinating in their own respective rights.

Coverage is under way now on BBC Two.

I'm going to sort some lunch and a coffee but will be back in good time to provide text updates of today's second session at the Crucible from 14:30 BST.

John Higgins takes on Neil Robertson in a last-eight meeting of two former world champions, while Wu Yize and Hossein Vafaei - two players making their first quarter-final appearances in Sheffield - begin their match on the other side of the curtain.

Zhao Xintong needs the rest for the difficult pink down the side cushion - it rattles the jaws and it comes out! He played it with a bit of pace to make sure he got out for the black.

Shaun Murphy tidies up to make it 5-3. That will feel like a massive win for him, having trailed 3-0.

Zhao started like a train but his level dropped in the latter part of the session and he will hope to show an improvement when the match resumes at 19:00 BST.

After an exchange of safety shots, Shaun Murphy pots a long last red... but then misses the next green!

Zhao Xintong will win the frame if he clears the colours, although the pink is tight on the side cushion so is far from easy.

Shaun Murphy plays a brilliant escape from a snooker to leave Zhao Xintong in a snooker on the last red.

Zhao trusts a little to luck with his attempted escape and leaves it safe.

We go on.

Just when Zhao Xintong looks to have gained a bit of something back and is striking the ball a bit better, he misses a tricky red with the rest.

Shaun Murphy pots red and black, but with the last red tight on the side cushion, he has to play safe. He's 22 ahead with 35 left.

Another nerve-jangler of a frame to end the first session...

And now Shaun Murphy misses the pink. He's 36 ahead with 67 remaining.

Image source, PA Media

Another Zhao Xintong miss lets Shaun Murphy in again.

His lead is now 35 with six reds left - three more reds and colours should be enough for a 5-3 lead, but not much has been straightforward for either player in the past two or three frames.

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

It seems strange to say after he led 3-0 so convincingly, but if Zhao can get out of here 4-4, what a result.

And Zhao almost immediately runs out of position, so Shaun Murphy is back at the table.

Shaun Murphy looks to be progressing towards the winning line in the eighth frame, but misses a straight pink off the spot and his break ends on 37.

A chance for Zhao Xintong.

Zhao Xintong is as attacking a player as they come.

After picking out a three-ball plant to pot the first red, the world champion misses a difficult blue to the right corner and gives Shaun Murphy another opening.

A lot of the reds are in the open, but the black is tied up and the blue is close to the yellow pocket.

John Parrott
1991 world champion on BBC Two

It's not very often that you want to dig the world champion out, but he's played a brown into the middle hole at 300mph. We get used to seeing players do it and I don't knock him for taking it on, but it always looks worse when you miss.

He had a little tuck-up in behind the green [available] and when you're in a match that is running away slightly and you've gone off the boil, maybe it would have been more prudent to tuck Shaun up behind the green.

That's the way he plays the game.

Four frames in a row now for Shaun Murphy, who is 4-3 up with one frame of the first session remaining.

That will help Zhao Xintong's cause - a plant in the pack of reds gets him off the mark.

But he tries to power the brown into the middle pocket with his next shot and misses, leaving Shaun Murphy a frame-winning opportunity.

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

It's a must-win frame for Shaun Murphy, with the way his opponent's playing at the moment.

When you see your opponent like this, you think you have to get a 5-3 lead out of this session.

When you're playing these multi-session matches, you have to sense these things and pounce on it.

Murphy leads 48-0 in the seventh frame.

A clearance of 63 by Barry Hawkins wins him the final frame of the session and he leads Mark Allen 5-3 at the end of the first session.

They'll resume at 19:00 BST.