Zhao, who has openly talked about the pressure of defending his crown and lifting the ‘Crucible curse’ was transformed from the morning session where he let a 3-0 lead slip to trail 5-3.
The 29-year-old took the opening frame of the night and constructed breaks of 55, 67 and 117 as he went toe-to-toe with Englishman Murphy.
The 2005 world champion knocked in breaks of 59, 90 and 65 of his own and will not be fazed when their match is played to a finish on Wednesday from 14:30 BST.
Allen and Hawkins’ match was every bit as compelling as they traded blows on the other side of the partition.
When the Northern Irishman compiled his 700th career century to get back to 7-6 with a wonderful 138, the 2013 finalist Hawkins’ response was to knock in 140 – the joint-highest break of the tournament alongside Allen and Murphy.
World number 14 Allen replied with a superb 131 before taking a dramatic final frame, with their contest resuming at 10:00 BST on Wednesday.
