World number one Mark Selby got a huge let-off as he overcame the unfancied Sam Baird 4-3 in the opening round of the 888 Welsh Open in Newport tonight.
A missed blue off the spot with two balls left cost Baird the sixth frame and a 4-2 victory, and Selby then took the seventh after a nervous finish.
Selby, far from his fluent best, should have cruised to the finish in the deciding frame, but key misses gave Baird hope, only for an untimely miscue to let Selby off the hook.
Baird, the world number 82, had trailed 2-1 but used big breaks, including an 85 in the fifth, to turn the match around.
If the number one was struggling, the number two was not much better as Mark Williams squeezed past Andy Hicks 4-3.
The two-time world champion from Wales trailed three times to the Devon cueman, but the Englishman was unable to get over the line.
A break of 47 saw Hicks nick a scrappy first frame, but a knock of 64 was enough to get Williams back level. Hicks edged ahead again but again Williams restored parity despite not looking on top form.
A 53 break put Hicks 3-2 up but Williams scraped back level and then a solid deciding frame saw him sneak into round two, where he will face Ronnie O'Sullivan or Marco Fu.
"It was a frustrating match, I struggled throughout and it was only the last couple of frames when I was able to make two good breaks," Williams told worldsnooker.com. "I missed about 10 easy balls and Andy will be disappointed that he didn't punish me more.
"It was a get-out-of-jail-free card today but if I play like that again I'll go straight to jail. I hope I play Ronnie next because it will be a great occasion with a big crowd. That's the kind of match I like to play. But on today's form I couldn't beat Gilbert O'Sullivan."
Stephen Hendry turned back the clock in a 4-1 defeat of world number four Neil Robertson.
A break of 62 gave Hendry victory in the opening frame, and though Robertson bounced back with a total clearance of 135, Hendry won the final three frames, with breaks of 67 and 86 in the final two, to cruise through to a meeting with either Mark Allen or Ken Doherty.
"I haven't had much success against the top players in the last few years," said Hendry, who has dropped out of the world's top 16. "I just played well, and when you do that you can compete. If you don't you've got no chance.
"In the last frame I expected to get the jitters, but I felt really comfortable clearing up, and that pleased me more than anything."
Stephen Lee also enjoyed a straightforward afternoon's work as he overcame fellow Englishman Michael Holt 4-1.
Lee won the first frame but paid for a number of missed chances in frame two as Holt drew level.
The match swung in Lee's favour in frame three when, needing the final three colours to pinch the frame, he could manage only blue and pink, leaving his opponent to sweep up.
The 37-year-old from Wiltshire soon eased into a 3-1 lead and then finished things off with a 53 break, having trailed 52-17.
Martin Gould also progressed with a 4-2 victory over Peter Ebdon, while Stuart Bingham beat Mark King by the same score.
