Newly-crowned UK champion Matthew Stevens was dumped out of the Welsh Open by Marco Fu. The Hong Kong player breezed into the last 16 with a shock 5-2 victory over the Welshman in Cardiff.
New father Stevens refused to make any excuses, saying: "The new baby didn't make any difference to the result.
"I've been putting a lot of work in these last few days and felt good going into the match but Marco was better on the night."
Fu, who faces Ken Doherty or Michael Holt for a quarter-final place, was a semi-finalist in the event last year and was delighted to claim the scalp of Stevens.
"Matthew is the number one right now so I'm delighted to beat a player of his calibre," he said.
World number two Stephen Hendry made light of a potentially tricky match against Mark Selby to move into the last 16.
 |  I'm always apprehensive about this round, especially as we haven't had a tournament for six weeks |
The Scot, beaten by Selby in the 2002 China Open, was a 5-1 winner, securing victory with a break of 102.
The 35-year-old will face either old rival Jimmy White or Northern Ireland's Joe Swail for a quarter-final place.
"I played very solidly and didn't make any mistakes worth talking about," said Hendry, who is the defending champion.
"I'm always apprehensive about this round, especially as we haven't had a tournament for six weeks.
"Sometimes you only scrape through first rounds but that was as good as I've played in an opening round match all season."
John Parrott's title hopes were ended by Scottish player Alan McManus.
Parrott was beaten 5-3 in a match which included a five-minute break while the players questioned whether the overhead table light was too dim.
After a protracted discussion, the contest continued, but Parrott failed to shine and McManus set up a third-round meeting with Peter Ebdon or Chris Small. World number 16 Joe Perry overpowered Mike Dunn 5-1 while Stuart Pettman defeated Ali Carter 5-2.
Dominic Dale survived a scare before clinching his place in the second round with a 5-3 win over Barry Hawkins.
The Welshman led 4-0, but then had a sense of deja vu following his 9-7 defeat to Alan McManus from 7-1 up in November's UK Championship.
"You do start to doubt yourself when they start coming back," he admitted. "I felt too relaxed when I went 4-0 up."
Dale tackles Glaswegian Graeme Dott for a place in the last 16.
Anthony Hamilton weighed in with a 131 total clearance as he defeated Belgian number one Bjorn Haneveer 5-3 while Drew Henry beat Welsh veteran Darren Morgan 5-1.
MMIX
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