But the 27-year-old from Essex, who has yet to appear in a final on the main circuit, insists he just wants to fulfil the vast potential he has had since being a youngster when he was tipped as one of the brightest prospects around.

“It’s about time I started playing the way I can,” said Carter after his 13-6 demolition of the seven-time former world champion.

“Whatever that brings, great. But I’m not thinking about winning this or any other tournament. I’m just thinking about good performances and whatever that brings is all I can hope for.”

Carter’s career has also been put into perspective by the fact he has had to overcome Crohn’s disease, a serious condition that affects the intestines.

He is mindful of what happened to Paul Hunter, who died last year after an 18-month battle against cancer.

“The illness has not completely gone, it’s been in remission for a couple of years,” said the world number 15.

“I have regular blood tests and I’ve no signs of it at all in my blood at the moment. I wouldn’t know I’ve got anything wrong with me, which is great because I was probably more ill than I realised when I had it.

“You only have to look at what happened to Paul Hunter and it could easily have been me, it could easily have been any one of us. It’s just good to have your health and if you’ve got that, you’re a rich man.”

Carter’s form has been one of the revelations of the tournament and he certainly impressed Hendry, who feels his conqueror has what it takes to go all the way.

“Every safety shot he played seemed to leave me in the most awkward part of the table where I didn’t want to be,” said the world number one. “And whenever I played a decent safety shot he knocked in a long pot.

“He played fantastic and I told him at the end that if he keeps playing like that he’s got a great chance because I don’t see anyone else lighting the fire up. I just hope he does himself justice for the rest of the tournament.”

Next opponent for Carter will be Mark Selby, another player who is through to his first World Championship quarter-final after a 13-8 triumph against Peter Ebdon.

But the tie of the round will again feature Ronnie O’Sullivan, who came through a real test against the season’s form player, Neil Robertson, to take the last three frames for a 13-10 success.

O’Sullivan takes on John Higgins, a 13-4 victor against Fergal O’Brien.

In the other quarter-final, Shaun Murphy meets Matthew Stevens in a repeat of the 2005 final.