Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

It's amazing in these multi-session matches how momentum can change from one player to the other. Sometimes it's difficult to arrest it from your opponent.

John Higgins had the momentum then the interval came and just stopped his progress. It's all with his opponent now.

4-0, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4.

Gritty stuff from Ali Carter who has levelled the match up from four frames down.

Carter played with some particularly fluent cueing in the most recent of those frames, as he compiled a break of 91.

A century eluded him after the black following the penultimate red hit the jaw of the corner pocket and bounced out but he will not mind a jot.

All square.

Dennis Taylor
1985 world champion on BBC Two

John Higgins put his cue on the table at the end of that frame - he is wondering what has happened since the mid-sesson interval.

It's been all Ali Carter and now he is just one frame behind the Scot.

This is an impressive fightback from Ali Carter who looked to be really struggling at 4-0 down but has roared back into this contest.

Carter has won three frames on the bounce - the latest 82-0 - to cut Higgins' advantage to just a solitary frame.

The Englishman had a satisfactory smile after he took his seat at the end of the frame.

Dennis Taylor
1985 world champion on BBC Two

For all the world it looked like John Higgins would be leading 5-1 but he missed that straightforward red and Ali Carter made a very good clearance in response.

Ali Carter stuck his tongue out and waggled it across his mouth after he missed a tricky red into the corner pocket, bridging his fingers over the ball.

Carter realised a break of 26 - which featured a rather fluky blue - was not going to be enough against someone of John Higgins' pedigree.

The veteran Scot compiled 44 before he decided for a spot of safety play.

However, with the frame at his mercy Higgins then blundered on a simple red in the corner pocket, which rattled the jaws, to give Carter a sniff.

Carter duly potted the last red then efficiently cleared up the colours to snatch the frame.

Image source, PA Media

Ali Carter finally able to get himself on the board.

A break of 32 helped Carter establish a 59-0 lead before a touching ball forced him into a bit of safety play.

John Higgins was unable to make any inroads, though, and in another visit Carter did enough to get himself over the line.

Barry Hawkins has booked his place in the second round with an emphatic 10-4 victory over Matthew Stevens.

Hawkins needed a few visits - including a break of 37 - to wrap up the 10th frame by a 64-1 scoreline after Stevens decided to throw in the towel.

The Hawk did most of the hard work yesterday and although Stevens showed a bit of fight early in the session - winning back-to-back frames - he was able to snuff it out.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible

Image source, Michael Emons

John Higgins will be feeling 10 feet tall after that first-session shutout of Ali Carter.

Meanwhile, these two (pictured above) are actually 10 feet tall.

Tudor Square, just outside the Crucible, is the place to go for your entertainment if you don't have a ticket.

There are mini tables for the kids to show their snooker talent, a big screen to watch the matches and of course stilt walkers to chat to the fans and make them laugh.

Carter hasn't got much to smile about following that first session though. He only potted 14 balls, scoring 37 points in the process, with a highest break of nine.

You can't win a match in the first session, but Carter will be hoping to salvage something from these last five frames - and bring Higgins crashing back down to Earth.

Image source, Michael Emons

John Parrott
1991 world champion on BBC Two

John Higgins is missing nothing stupid. Everything that is coming up that he should pot - one red in that last frame aide - he has potted.

It's nothing Ali Carter wouldn't have expected, but it's very difficult to play against.

John Higgins goes into the mid-session interval with a commanding lead.

For the second frame running the Snooker gods gifted Higgins a extremely lucky rebound on the white, but this time he missed the pot on red, his first bad miss of the day.

But he returned to reach 63 and Carter concedes the fourth frame.

Carter must be wondering what he has done to deserve this. He just can't get in the game.

It's a dream start for Higgins - he has clocked a 96% pot success.

Barry Hawkins has his swagger from last night back.

The Englishman made a slow start to the session but after Matthew Stevens wrestled back a couple frames they have now been rubbed out.

A break of 70 is enough to close out of the frame and there was even a bit of showmanship from the 46-year-old as he potted a red in the middle with a double.

Hawkins is one frame away from the second round at the mid-session interval.

Matthew Stevens cursed under his breath after he missed an easy blue into the middle pocket following a fairly positive start to the 12th frame.

Barry Hawkins looks to have finally got his act together as he showed good cue-ball control on a table where the balls were slightly awkwardly placed.

A break of 92 helped 'The Hawk' clear up and he is now just two frames away from a place in the second round.

Ali Carter broke well, before he hit a red and jumped over a couple of other reds to set up a pot on blue.

Carter then played a smart safety shot to hide the white behind the green and scupper John Higgins chances of potting.

But Higgins soon got a stroke of luck when the cue ball kissed the black like a dream off potting a red and stopped perfectly for a pot.

From there it was business as usual as he compiled a 76 break to win a third frame on the trot.

Is Barry Hawkins struggling to settle here?

Hawkins compiled a confident break of 35 but then rattled a fairly straightforward red into the jaws of the corner pocket to hand Matthew Stevens a way back into the frame.

The Welshman grabbed it with both hands with a break of 55 as he cleared up all but the black to seal back-to-back frames.

Stevens has managed to cut Hawkins' lead from five frames to three.

This next frame could be absolutely pivotal in this contest.

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

Ali Carter has got to find a way of putting John Higgins on the back foot.

Give John Higgins a sniff and he will punish you every single time.

Ali Carter attempted a safety shot early on but the cue ball brushed against a group of reds and left Higgins with an easy pot.

From there Higgins showed why he is one of the best scorers around as the table opened up before him.

The Scot slipped up with a red that clipped the pocket jaws, allowing Carter a route back in with a superbly hit long-range red, one of the shots of the tournament so far.

But Carter botched a relatively routine black and Higgins returned to take the second frame 64-10.

Matthew Stevens, sporting a waistcoat with a light maroon back to it, has little margin for error in this contest.

The Welshman compiled a break of 54 before he left the cue ball touching a red and was forced to play a safety shot.

Barry Hawkins made a decent fist of clawing his way back from 60-6 down but when Stevens left him snookered on the final red the Englishman conceded the frame.

Victory in the opening frame of the session for Stevens. Can it spark a fightback?

John Higgins wins a tactical opening frame after 22 minutes.

Ali Carter apologised after almost snookering Higgins by unintentionally leaving the white hanging over a pocket.

Higgins was able to escape but couldn't quite make a long range plant. That left a red open to Carter, who then caught the jaws of the pocket with the black.

Higgins took full advantage of that miss with breaks of 44 and 25 to take the opening frame 69-9.