Matthew Stevens eyes top 16 spot

He cruised in to the last 16 of the Welsh Open in Newport on Wednesday with a 4-0 whitewash of Shaun Murphy.

If the 33-year-old gets back in to the elite it will be the first time he has been there since 2007.

"It is a target to get back in the top 16 .. it's where everyone wants to be," said Stevens, currently ranked 21st.

But his first target is to reach Friday's quarter-final stage. To get there he needs to overcome fellow Welshman Ryan Day, who overcame Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-2 impressively on Wednesday night, in their last 16 clash.

Stevens' victory over Murphy, which included a break of 133 in the second frame, was particularly sweet.

Not only did Murphy, who is ranked sixth in the world, beat him in the 2005 world final but he was also responsible for dumping the Welshman out of the top 16 for the first time in eight years in '07.

"I felt a totally different player [against Murphy]. I felt more relaxed probably because I'm playing one of the best players in the world and not many people expect me to win," added the Carmarthen-born player.

"I just played my own game and it paid off.

"I've been a bit patchy all season - playing a good match-bad-match - the same as this week.

"Hopefully I can keep this standard up and hopefully I can have a little good run.

"I felt great. Shaun has come back at me over the years and I suppose in the back of your mind it does play a little bit.

"But luckily for me I took the balls towards the end and I'm really pleased to be in the next round."

Stevens took the first frame with a composed clearance of 39 and followed it with a majestic total clearance of 133.

A run of 60 took him 3-0 ahead and, though the fourth frame was less fluent, Stevens got over the line with a fine last red and blue to wrap it up.