Snooker: Ding Junhui delighted his home crowd by brushing aside Stephen Hendry to reach the China Open quarter-finals. The 24-year-old, winner of this event in 2005 and finalist last year, trailed Hendry 2-0. But the Scot had no answer to an impressive revival by Ding, who reeled off five frames in succession to set up a clash against Stephen Lee.
Lee had earlier become the first player to make sure of a place in the last eight, courtesy of a 5-2 defeat of Ryan Day.
Breaks of 88 and 79 twice enabled Welshman Day - conqueror of Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round, to level the contest. But Lee finished strongest at the Students University Stadium in Beijing, despite his highest break in the match being 47.
John Higgins defeated Ricky Walden 5-2 to set up a last eight encounter against Shaun Murphy, who avoided becoming a third former world champion to bow out at the hands of Li Hang.
The home hope, who had already seen off Ken Doherty and Graeme Dott, lost 5-4 despite leading Murphy 2-0 and 3-1.
Mark Selby had few problems despatching fellow Englishman Robert Milkins 5-1 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Ali Carter - a 5-3 victor against Marcus Campbell.
Neil Robertson’s poor run in the competition continued as he bowed out to Peter Ebdon. The current world champion has still failed to reach the quarter-finals in this event and his latest attempt was a largely miserable one.
Ebdon ground his way through the first frame and then took the next two with patiently constructed breaks of 85 and 65.
The former world champion rolled in a 42 and closed out a scrappy fourth frame to complete a clean sweep before the interval, before Robertson got off the mark in the fifth with a break of 80.
However, Ebdon took control of the sixth frame and looked to have wrapped up the contest when a break of 21 put him 29 points clear with just the colours
remaining.
Robertson got four snookers on the green to trail by just three points but Ebdon then fluked that ball and went on to wrap up the 48-minute frame 78 57 and set up a quarter-final with fellow Englishman Judd Trump.
Rising star Trump beat compatriot Mark Davis 5-2, never looking back after taking the first three frames of the contest.