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O'Sullivan: Early exit

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Marco Fu enhanced his good record against Ronnie O'Sullivan as he edged a thrilling 5-4 victory over 'The Rocket' in the first round of the China Open.

Fu defeated O'Sullivan in the final of the Grand Prix this season and again the man from Hong Kong came out on top - but only just as he won a 5-4 thriller that went right down to the final few balls.

Both players produced some fine break-building, with O'Sullivan hitting 74, 53, 77 and 99, while Fu responded with 58, 56, 88 and 121 as nothing could separate the two.

The match went down to a deciding ninth frame and O'Sullivan continued to play with the carefree abandon he had shown all game, but he came unstuck after a break of 50.

Fu hit 50 himself and the match came down to the final three colours, but O'Sullivan twice missed risky pots and on the second attempt Fu punished by taking the match and a place in the last 16.

"I don't think Ronnie was totally focussed. His play was casual at times," said Fu, who now plays Mark Selby.

"But there's nothing I can do to control that. At 50-0 down in the last frame I didn't think I'd get another shot, so when I got a chance I felt lucky to be at the table, and not nervous.

"I played well from the start and took all of the chances I had. I felt much more relaxed than I did in my first match."

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O'Sullivan is losing his group on the world number one spot, but he was not too disheartened with his defeat in Beijing.

"I tried to express myself and it was a good game because we both played open snooker," said O'Sullivan. Marco made me go for my shots.

"There have been times in the past when I've won tournaments but I've still been miserable and ended up crying. The most important thing it to enjoy the game. It's history now and good luck to Marco."

Masters champion Selby is next up for Fu, with the Leicester man hoping to add a third tournament having also landed the Welsh Open.

Selby hit breaks of 109 and 117 in his comfortable 5-2 victory over Ricky Walden and he looks in good form for a strong challenge.

Allen attack

Northern Irishman Mark Allen also produced some fine snooker as he disposed of Australian star Neil Robertson 5-2.

Allen hit breaks of 65, 118 and 76 in his win, while Robertson was on for a 147 before narrowly missing the final red.

"I'm always happy to beat one of the top players, although I had a bit of luck on my side tonight which helped," said Allen.

"I didn't do much wrong in the two frames Neil won, so I still felt confident."

Robertson added: "It would have been nice to make a 147, I was only one centimetre away from having a chance to pot the last red. It shows that I've been playing well, but I've had a lot of tough draws this season and run into players in form. Hopefully I'm saving it for the World Championship."

Allen now plays Ali Carter in the next round after he saw off fellow Essex cueman Stuart Bingham 5-3.