Higgins And Trump Start Well In Glasgow
John Higgins and Judd Trump were among the top stars to score wins as the Coral Scottish Open got underway in Glasgow.
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Higgins won a local derby against Alan McManus by a 4-1 scoreline at the Emirates Arena to set up a last 64 tie with Scott Donaldson. McManus won the opening frame and had good chances in each of the next two but couldn’t take them and his opponent recovered to lead 2-1. Four-time World Champion Higgins then added the next two frames with breaks of 64 and 69.
“It was tough for both of us to have to play each other in the first round,” said Wishaw’s Higgins, ranked third in the world. “The second frame was massive because if Alan had gone 2-0 up he was halfway there. I was very pleased to come back and win. It would be amazing if I could go all the way and win this tournament. I have won two events in Scotland before and they have really stood out in my career. Hopefully crowds will pick up and it will be a great week of snooker here.”
Trump eased to a 4-0 win over China’s Zhang Yong. World number four Trump went 2-0 up with a top run of 58 then Zhang could have won the third frame but missed  a tricky final black along the top cushion. Trump potted it then clinched the tie in the next with a run of 64.
“It’s important to do well this week, although I’ve had a good first half of the season no matter what happens here,” said Bristol’s Trump. “I haven’t played in Scotland for a whole and it would be nice to end the year on a high. It’s still the early stages with a lot of games to get through.”
World number two Stuart Bingham, the highest ranked player in the event in the absence of Mark Selby, suffered a first round exit, losing 4-3 to Mark Joyce. Breaks of 51, 80 and 86 helped Joyce build a 3-1 lead, before Bingham fought back to 3-3 with 57 and 116. But Walsall’s Joyce took the decider 66-30, securing victory after a safety error from Bingham on the penultimate red.
Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo scored one of the best wins of his career with a 4-3 defeat of Jimmy Robertson. Runs of 74, 96 and 60 helped Robertson into a 3-1 lead, but Figueiredo hit back to win the last three frames despite a top break of just 31.
Anthony McGill made a strong start in his home event with a 4-1 defeat of John Astley, firing breaks of 61, 92, 52 and 72. Mark Allen avoided a shock defeat as he came from 3-0 down to beat tour rookie Chris Keogan 4-3.
Barry Hawkins top scored with 60 in a 4-0 defeat of Hammad Miah while Mark Williams saw off Rod Lawler 4-0 with a top run of 74. Matthew Stevens beat Ken Doherty 4-0 while Marco Fu made breaks of 104 and 110 in a 4-1 win over Sanderson Lam.