Robertson and Ding win

Former UK Championship winners Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui made short work of their opening games to reach the second round of the 2018 tournament at York.

Australian Robertson, winner of the event in 2013 and 2015, beat Welshman Kishan Hirani 6-2.

The world No 10 produced five 50-plus breaks and a best of 110 in the fifth frame.

Chinese star Ding, like Robertson a two-time UK champion, coasted to a 6-1 victory over Poland’s Adam Stefanow.

Jack Lisowski was the first man to progress to the second round and did so in style as his 6-1 defeat of China’s Zhang Jiankang included two century breaks.

Lisowski compiled scores of at least 50 in six of the seven frames, setting the trend with an 82 in the opener and making breaks of 120 and 115 in the second and penultimate frames respectively.

Ireland’s former world champion Ken Doherty was also in fine form in his 6-2 victory over Chinese teenager Yuan Sijun.

A break of 130 drew Doherty level at 2-2 and he rattled off the next four frames with further scores of 50 and 82 in frames six and seven.

There were also first-round wins for Chinese pair Zhou Yuelong and Luo Honghao.