And then Shaun Murphy, who must have been counting his lucky stars that he even got a chance to come back to the table, makes a huge mistake of his own.

A complete miscue lets John Higgins back in and now surely this frame is with 'The Wizard of Wishaw'.

Oh, John!

I'll take the blame for that one.

The Scot looked for all the world that he would hit at least a century there and on frame ball, he rattled the black in the jaws of the pocket.

Power was his enemy there.

John Higgins up past the half-century mark now. He will have to deal with a few of the reds that are bunched up if he is to make a really big break - but if anyone can...

Image source, PA Media

What a pot to open the frame up from John Higgins. A wonderful long red to set himself up perfectly on the black.

I've only just finished up writing about the previous frame and the 50-year-old is already on a break of 32 in this one.

He's well positioned to rack up a good score here, if not take the frame.

Steven Hallworth
Snooker commentator on BBC Two

Both players look to be in the zone. It was a John Higgins classic steal in the opening frame but Shaun Murphy appears to be unaffected by that.

It's as we were.

Dennis Taylor
1985 world champion on BBC Two

Both players look to be on it and this could be a fabulous session.

Shaun has got the most wonderful cue action, he's wonderful to watch, as is John Higgins. They've got slightly different styles, you would say John is the better tactician.

This could be frame-winning break after frame-winning break.

Shaun Murphy levels things up with a break of 88 and puts the mistake of the opening frame to bed nicely.

Both players seem to have taken their game to another level this morning.

More of this, please!

Steve Davis
Six-time world champion on BBC Two

A great response here from Shaun Murphy. It would have been a bit of a shock to the system to miss that black in the first frame but he has responded brilliantly.

Steven Hallworth
Snooker commentator on BBC Two

That missed black in the previous frame from Shaun has sparked something in him. Maybe just a reminder to find that level of intense focus, because he will be punished.

Image source, PA Media

Shaun Murphy with a wonderful long red to get another break going.

The black is currently out of play at the moment so the Englishman is having to settle for the lower scoring colours.

It doesn't matter as things stand though, 'The Magician' looks destined to level this one up. He's going along really nicely.

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre

Shaun Murphy reckons he is on to something with his third-red break-off shot.

The 2005 winner, who works with Peter Ebdon, has adopted the style to try to put pressure on his opponents and ensure they don't have a shot to nothing or end up in a protracted bout of safety.

"I'm convinced there's a better shot than the one we've been playing for 100 years. It's 100 years of professional snooker this year and the break-off hasn't changed," said Murphy.

"You always leave either the standard shot to nothing or a long red or you drag one up over the middle. One of those three things usually happens. And I just said to Peter that I'm convinced that there's a better shot in there. I'm not sure if my shot is better, and it's certainly not new, Steve Davis was doing that throughout the 1980s.

"As I said in the studio, the most famous frame, the 1985 last frame, that's how he broke off.

"So I haven't created anything new. It's a bit embarrassing when you get it wrong, when you're going off or hit the blue or whatever, but it certainly poses a few new problems. And since I've been doing it, I've lost one frame from the break-off so that is a massive improvement."

Another early mistake from Shaun Murphy as he leaves a red right over the pocket for John Higgins.

This time, though, he isn't punished.

Higgins takes out the long red brilliantly but doesn't put enough top spin on the white, leaving him unable to go anywhere. He settles for a safety shot and allows Murphy back to the table.

A much slower start to this one.

Dennis Taylor
1985 world champion on BBC Two

What a cracking opening frame.

It looked like Shaun was going to win it with one visit, he concentrated on the cannon and just forgot about the pot on the black.

I think he would have gone back to his seat and thought the black had gone safe, but the shot John played to get in was incredible.

Shaun was terrific until he missed the black and what a clearance from John. That's what John has done for the whole of his career - he's probably the best there's ever been at clearing up and pinching frames.

John Higgins emphatically answers that question and takes the frame.

A 72 clearance and he punishes Shaun Murphy's mistake to the max. He's made a career in doing that.

Murphy needs to reset and somehow put that to one side now. Plenty of snooker left to be played.

Steven Hallworth
Snooker commentator on BBC Two

How many times in his career has John Higgins been asked the question in a frame from well behind: "Can you make the clearance?"

If there is one player you'd want to make the clearance if your life depended on it, it would be this man.

Image source, PA Media

If John Higgins goes on to win this frame, Shaun Murphy will be replaying that black in his head for the rest of the morning.

'The Magician' was cruising along nicely and looked destined for a century break and the opening frame of the day.

Higgins up to 29 now and looks well positioned to clean up.

Oh no.

Shaun Murphy on a break of 49 takes his eye off the pot for just a fraction of a second and that's all it takes. He misses what looked a straightforward black and John Higgins is on the table.

A similar tale to yesterday, already?

Shaun Murphy with a gorgeous cut on the red to take his break in this frame up to 15 already. He follows that up with a tough pot on the brown and someone from the crowd says "shot!"

They'd be right.

Steve Davis
Six-time world champion on BBC Two

Shaun Murphy's break-off hitting the third red is causing players all sorts of problems.

Image source, PA Media

Huge round of applause from those in attendance as both Shaun Murphy and John Higgins take to the floor.

In fact, the applause is still going!

Handshakes between the players now though and just like that, we're off.

What awaits us today?