By Dan Warren BBC Sport at The Crucible

Dott beat world number four John Higgins in the previous round

Graeme Dott reached the Crucible semi- finals for the first time as he sealed a comfortable 13-7 win over David Gray.

The hard work was done in the opening two sessions, when the Scot built up a commanding 11-5 lead.

But he was far from convincing when play resumed, losing the opening frame when Gray made a 92 break, then edging a tense 40-minute frame to go 12-6 up.

Dott fluffed a red to give Gray the chance to win the next frame, but the number 13 seed won through in the next.

Dott said that in the semi-final, the pressure would be on his opponent, Matthew Stevens.

"You watch the Crucible when it gets to one table as a kid, and wonder what it would be like to play there," he said.

"Pride means I want to put in a good performance, but Matthew is a massive favourite for the semi-final although I have belief that I can beat him.

"I thought my quarter-final was a rubbish game, but I made it through."

Quarter-final result:

D Gray (Eng) 7-13 G Dott (Sco)