World snooker champion Shaun Murphy made a stuttering start to his Welsh Open campaign before finally battling past Andy Hicks at the Newport Centre today.
Murphy appeared to grow edgy as the winning line approached but still wrapped up a 5-3 victory to clinch his last-16 place.
The Rotherham-based 23-year-old has lost in deciding-frame finishes in each of the season’s first three ranking tournaments — including from 4-2 up to Graeme Dott in the Malta Cup three weeks ago.
Ryan Day, a quarter-finalist at Newport last year, reached the second round with a 5-1 victory over 1991 world champion John Parrott.
Day lost the opening frame but compiled two centuries, 122 and 113, as he won five on the trot to set up a meeting with perennial crowd favourite Jimmy White.
Parrott is down to 44th in the provisional rankings with only the 888.com World Championship remaining this season. The Liverpudlian faces Mansfield’s Lee Spick in the final qualifying round on March 14.