John Higgins speaking to the BBC after his Masters defeat. (Image: BBC.)
admitted that it was tough to go out of the in the first round, as a result of an almighty comeback.
Higgins led 5-1 in a first-to-six contest but Robertson, who at Alexandra Palace, rattled off five consecutive frame wins to claim a 6-5 victory.
And the Aussie set up a quarter-final against , who , much to the despair of Higgins on his record 31st appearance at the Triple Crown event.
Speaking to the Hazel Irvine in the immediate aftermath of his defeat to Robertson, the host told Higgins that it was “great drama for the crowd” but asked if it was tough to lose in such a fashion, for Higgins to bluntly reply: “Yeah, it was.”
Robertson, meanwhile, had a pointed dig for Beeb pundit after clinching just the sixth comeback from 5-1 down at the Masters.
Hendry had criticised Robertson for his slow play at the table, saying on his channel: “Neil Robertson playing zero-risk snooker, playing at 28-29 seconds a shot when his best is 22-23.
“I’ve spoken to Neil Robertson about it on text. He told me the reasons why he was doing it, which is fair enough. But I said to him he’s a far better player when he’s not.”
John Higgins could not close out a 5-1 lead against Neil Robertson. (Image: Getty)
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Robertson, who averaged just over 26 seconds per shot against Higgins, replied: “I don’t think Stephen Hendry is going to give me too much stick about that one.
“I don’t think John did a lot wrong. I played at my absolute best. I’m glad I could take my chance with Ronnie dropping out and give the crowd something to cheer today. I don’t think many people have seen what I can do. That match shows how well I can play.”
Higgins appeared in complete control of the match with five consecutive half-century breaks to move within a frame of the last eight, in five frames where Robertson scored just 16 points in total.
The 42-year-old roared back, however, with five consecutive frame wins of his own. He rattled off breaks of 63 and 80 either side of the only century of the match, 118, to draw level before coming out on top in a deciding frame.
Robertson, a two-time Masters champion, will now return on Thursday to face Murphy after the Magician fought off an early scare.
Murphy was pegged back to 4-3 after leading 4-0 at Ally Pally, but nailed a 104 break to stop Wilson’s run and then got over the line in the ninth frame.