China's Ding Junhui defeated qualifier Zak Surety 10-7 to reach the last 16 at Sheffield's Crucible Theater on Tuesday, but his opponent made history by becoming the first player to score four centuries on his debut. 

38-year-old Ding won the first four frames and led 6-3 after the first session but Surety hit back when they resumed, taking the 10th with a century break of 109.

Ding had lost his last four opening matches at the Crucible but started to assert himself by winning the 11th frame.

His English opponent reeled off another two centuries with runs 136 and 110, closing the gap to 7-6 and completing a historic sweep of four-century runs on his first Crucible appearance. 

Ding then made an 86 in frame 14 before Surety took the 15th keep it close at 8-7.

Ding finished strongly, making a century of his own with a score of 116 then a 75 to wrap up the 10-7 victory. Afterwards, he had plenty of praise for Surety's spirited performance. 

"I think Surety performed very well during the match and kept attacking me. He tried to find opportunities to fight back. I did not make any mistakes in those frames which he won. I focused on scoring more points. I would've lost my form if I sat for a long time. I tried my best to control the rhythm of the match," said Ding.

In other action, China's Si Jiahui got past last year's semifinalist David Gilbert and took a 6-3 lead into their second session.

Si won the opening frame with a good break of 98. Gilbert returned fire, scoring 147 in the 11th frame. Si dominated the next frame landing a top run of 55 to lead 8-4.

Frame 13 came down to the last red and Si converted an excellent long pot to move to the brink of victory.

After the interval, Gilbert found more flow with runs of 104 and 102 to close the gap to 9-6.

A scrappy 16th frame was resolved when Si laid down a tough snooker with three reds remaining and Gilbert failed to recover. It ended 10-6. Si will meet Mark Selby or Ben Woollaston in the last 16.