Snooker: Shaun Murphy stuttered towards a 6-3 lead against James Wattana in the first session of his Crucible title defence on the opening day of the World Championship.
Murphy, who won the tournament last year as a qualifier, failed to make a century break in the opening nine frames but did enough to take a three-frame advantage into the evening session in Sheffield.
Both players missed simple pots, but it was Murphy who looked a touch more composed in the scrappy early exchanges of the best-of-19 encounter.
On the other table, Graeme Dott stormed into a 7-2 lead against former world champion John Parrott.
Dott sealed the opener with a double on the black for a 98 break, and the 28-year-old then took the opening six frames.
Parrott fought back with consecutive frames but missed the deciding black in the final action of the session, losing his chance to reduce the deficit to three.
Ireland's Ken Doherty begins his campaign against Barry Hawkins tomorrow morning.