Match previews / Paul Krishnamurty / 27 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Back Carter to make a comeback in this volatile match, says Paul Krishnamurty.

Ali Carter backers must have been in despair last night, watching their man get the very worst possible result out of the session. Having started the evening 5-3 behind, Carter shared the middle eight frames with Neil Robertson, but could easily have won all eight. The frame betting markets saw plenty of carnage, with Carter trading well below [1.1] in each of the four frames he lost.

So instead of leading going into the final session, Carter starts 9-7 down. There's no need for his supporters to panic though. Every year at the Crucible, we see several turnarounds from this type of situation over these longer matches, and judging by the way momentum in this match has switched dramatically so far, there are bound to be more twist and turns tomorrow.

Just as those who laid Ali Carter down to [1.3] in-running to win the match are now sitting pretty, there's an opportunity to take on Robertson at [1.5] now. Surprisingly, we haven't had a match decided in the final frame yet this year. This could well be the first.