Ken Doherty survived a "war of attrition" at Wembley last night to reach the quarter-finals of the £575,000 UK Masters. After four hours Doherty finally got the better of Steve Davis who had ended his campaigns in 1996 and 1997.

The former world champion secured a 44-minute final frame, helped by a succession of `misses' by his vastly experienced opponent at the start. Davis potted a red but was unlucky to find himself snookered on all the colours. In his attempt to negotiate a safety route to the baulk area of the table he gave away 36 penalty points. At his 10th attempt, Davis finally struck the brown bringing about a cheer of relief from his supporters but by then the damage had been done.

"It was a nice cushion to get me underway," said Doherty who now meets Ronnie O'Sullivan or Thailand's James Wattana for a place in the last four. "Steve is still the best tactical player in the game though he doesn't make as many big breaks as he used to. But he keeps chipping away at your weaknesses and it was a relief to come out on top. I should perhaps have gone 4-0 up and maybe then it would have been an easier night. But Steve pinched the frame and after that the match tooed and froed all the way to the end."

Earlier Tony Drago was ecstatic as a result of his 6-4 success over Stephen Hendry. "Considering where I was playing, who I was playing and how I played this has to be my best ever result," he said. Alan McManus also reached the last eight thanks to a 6-2 win over Grand Prix champion Stephen Lee.