Australian Goldfields Open: Neil Robertson underway in his home tournament
Last Updated: 02/07/14 6:38pm
Australian Neil Robertson won his opening match at the Australian Goldfields Open in Bendigo, beating England's Andrew Higginson 5-2.
The world No 2 made a break of 89 in the seventh frame, sealing victory for the 32-year-old Melbourne native.
Robertson takes on Welshman Jamie Jones in the second round on Thursday.
World No 4 Barry Hawkins fell at the first hurdle, however, going down 5-2 to Peter Ebdon, who now meets China's Xiao Guodong for a place in the quarter-finals.
Ebdon won the first four frames before Hawkins hit back by winning the fifth and sixth, but the 43-year-old former world and UK champion sealed an impressive victory by winning the seventh with a decisive break of 67.
Elsewhere, Shaun Murphy was a 5-0 winner over Jack Lisowski and will face fellow Englishman Mark Davis in the second round, while Martin Gould beat Michael Holt 5-3 and takes on Ricky Walden next.
Judd Trump and Alan McManus will play one another for a last-eight place after beating Rory McLeod (5-2) and Joe Perry (5-4) respectively.
