Shaun Murphy was reminded his mission of ending a 21-year wait for a second world crown will not be straightforward as he was pegged back by the four-time champion John Higgins in their semi-final. The 2005 champion has moved through the gears since squeaking out a 10-9 first-round win over Fan Zhengyi, easing past Xiao Guodong in round two before conquering the reigning world champion Zhao Xintong in the quarter-finals to set up a last-four showdown with Higgins and a repeat of the 2009 final. Higgins cruised to victory on that occasion 17 years ago but it was Murphy who made the stronger start on Thursday afternoon, taking a 3-1 lead into the mid-session interval. The Scotsman fought back, though, winning three of the final four frames of the opening session to level things up at 4-4. Murphy started brightly, taking the opener 110-1 with breaks of 42 and 68.…