Hong Kong’s Marco Fu is looking forward to the most important match of his career after a terrific come-from-behind 9-7 victory over Ali Carter in Telford.

The 30-year-old looked to be on his way out of the Maplin UK Championship when he found himself 5-2 down in the first session, despite breaks of 136 and 104.

But he pinched the last frame of the afternoon after Carter missed a pink, and that proved to be a major turning point.

“I’m over the moon because, next to the world championship, this is the second-most important tournament,” said a delighted Fu.

“After winning the Grand Prix (in 2007) my form slipped and I didn’t do very well for the next five or six tournaments.

“It’s nice to get back in a final again and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Fu, the world No 14, won four frames on the bounce to put him on the cusp of victory, having also started the evening session with his third century of the match.

Carter had a chance to force a decider but broke down again, and Fu saw the match out with a clearance of 85.

Important

That eighth frame was still playing on the minds of both players at the end though, with Fu declaring: “I felt that was the most important frame of the match because Ali was playing so well in the first session.

“He didn’t really score heavily but he was making 50 or 60 breaks and his safety was so good that he kept me under pressure all the time.

“I think 6-2 would have been a fair score (after the first session) because Ali had outplayed me in every department.

“I was really relieved to see him miss the pink and I had a good clearance after that which changed the match.”

For Carter, it was more disappointment – and he was quick to look in the mirror for the blame.

“That was a poor performance all the way through from me,” he lamented. “It’s disappointing to play like that in a semi.

“I was still competing to lose 9-7, and I should have made it eight-all, even with my ‘C’ game.

“It’s not the desired result, but that’s the way it goes – it’s clearly not my turn yet.

“It’s a lost opportunity. There’s plenty gone by and probably plenty more to come as well, so it’s back to the drawing board.”

By Chris Hudson