Higgins wins through to second round

Defending world champion John Higgins responded well to a mini-crisis in his first-round match against Matthew Stevens to win 10-5 at the Crucible.

Higgins took a dominant 7-2 lead in the morning despite a break of 112 from Williams in the third frame.

Stevens dragged himself back in the evening, winning three straight frames.

The Scot responded with a break of 75 to take the 13th frame before the interval, and fine century breaks in the final two frames took him through.

Higgins was always expecting a tough opening clash with Stevens, twice a runner-up in Sheffield, and trailed 2-1 early on as the Welshman came close to a 147 maximum break.

He potted 14 reds and 14 blacks in the third frame before missing a pot down the rail.

But Higgins hit back to win six frames in a row to lead 7-2 - and that proved to be the crucial passage of play in the match.

"I'm delighted to be through," said Higgins of his victory over a player never beaten in the first round at Sheffield in 10 appearances.

"From 2-1 down this morning I managed to nick a frame to get to 2-2 and after that I scored very heavily.

"Tonight I realised Matthew is one of those players that can reel off three or four frames in a row but he missed a pot with the rest and then I didn't really miss a shot in the last three frames."

Higgins will not be in action again until Thursday but is staying in Sheffield even though his wife Denise is heavily pregnant with their third child.


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Video Replay: Stevens comes close to 147