Barry Hawkins says he will be on the wrong end of some punishment from John Higgins unless he drastically improves ahead of his Betfred World Championship semi-final clash.

The Ditton potter booked a fourth semi-final in five years with a scrappy 13-9 win against Stephen Maguire at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, but with the trophy now in sight he knows he needs to ramp it up.

Higgins is in supreme form and has showed signs he is getting back to the levels he reached when winning the title for a fourth time in 2011, although Hawkins says he thrives when the going gets tough.

However, the 38-year-old can’t afford to produce the same kind of display he produced against Maguire, despite winning the final four frames.

“If I play anything like I did against Stephen, no disrespect to him he played terribly as well, then I will get my bum smacked by John,” he said.

“I need to play at the top of my game to get past him – he has got all of the experience here, a four-time winner and he is just a class player.

“I need to take my chances when they come along and score heavier then I have been and not make too many easy mistakes.

“I know going into the match I need to play well and that helps me sometimes because I know I need to play better.”

Hawkins led for much of the contest, leading 5-3 after the first session and 9-7 after the second.

But Maguire, the 2004 UK champion, hit back at the beginning of the decider – winning the first two frames to level at 9-9, which included an excellent 126.

However, Hawkins dug deep – reeling off the final four frames to ensure he progresses to face Higgins.

“We both struggled the whole match, it was a battle of wills – it was not a great standard, we were both missing balls and running out of position,” he said.

“So it was just one of those matches where it was very bitty. I had some lady luck on my side, and I managed to take advantage a couple of times and that is all that matters.

“The final break there to win the match was the calmest I have felt. It is strange, but maybe it is the experience I have now. I just managed to really focus and pretended it was practice really.”

Watch the Snooker World Championship Live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player, with Colin Murray and analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds