Mark Selby beats Ricky Walden at British Open, Mark Williams also through after win against Andres Petrov

Mark Selby beat Ricky Walden 4-1 in his opening match at the British Open at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.

In a clash between two top 16 players, it was a cagey affair with neither player anywhere near their best.

Selby took a scrappy opener before Walden made two visits to the table to level the match.

In the third frame, Walden made a break of 34 but missed a relatively simple red, so Selby pounced to clear the table with a break of 87.

Selby nicked the next frame and went on to take the win with a break of 69 to book his place in the second round where he will face Mark Joyce.

Williams also progresses

Defending British Open champion Mark Williams is also through after winning 4-1 against Andres Petrov, who is making his debut campaign on the tour.

Petrov had his chances in the first frame but made some errors which enabled Williams to take the opener, before the three-time world champion won the second in quick fashion with a break of 76.

The Estonian then missed a straightforward pink in the third frame which let Williams back in, but a missed yellow gave Petrov the opportunity to clear up and get a frame on the board by potting the final black.

It gave the European amateur champion renewed confidence but Williams managed to keep him at bay and won the next two frames to book a spot in the last 64 where he will play Ben Woollaston in the second round.

Elsewhere, Yan Bingtao beat Oliver Brown 4-2 and Anthony McGill won 4-1 against Wu Yize.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump return to action in the evening session on Monday.

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