China's Ding Junhui begins Wuhan Open with sweeping win

Ding Junhui of China thrashed his compatriot Xu Si 5-0 at the Wuhan Open in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, on Monday, advancing to the next round.

Ding was in excellent form from the beginning, clinching the second, fourth and fifth frames with century runs of 111, 102 and 130. It was Ding's second ranking event win this season and his first appearance in the second round at any ranking event this season.

Ding is next set to face another hometown player, Yuan Sijun.

Zhang Anda of China also defeated Graeme Dott of Scotland 5-3 to reach the second round. Neither was in the best form and reached a 1-1 draw after the first two frames. Zhang took the third 60-50 by exploiting a mistake by the opponent. Though Dott clinched the fourth frame to keep the competition alive, he lost the fifth after missing an easy middle pocket.

Zhang scored 124 points to claim the seventh game and led 4-3 before beating the Scottish 72-49 in the eighth to seal the deal.

John Higgins of Scotland came back to knock out home player Fan Zhengyi 5-4. Fan blew first 3-0 and then 4-2 leads when Higgins steal the seventh on the black. That fame became the turning point of the match before Higgins rallied to secure the final victory.

"He could have won 5-2 today, but ran out of position," Higgins said. "There always seems to be one shot among the mere mortals of the game that you have to do to get over that hurdle. Fan didn't manage and then I managed to go 4-3 down and stay in the game. I was delighted to win."

Shaun Murphy of England defeated his compatriot Anthony Hamilton 5-3 for his progression.

"I don't think anyone can swamp Anthony," Murphy said. "He knows too much and is too clever. He has every shot in the book and I have vast amounts of respect for him. There were moments in the match where we both produced brilliance and moments where we both produced garbage. In the end I'm delighted to be through."