Date: 30 March-5 April 2009 Venue: Beijing University Students Gymnasium
Coverage: Results and reports on the BBC Sport website

World number two Stephen Maguire suffered a surprise whitewash

Stephen Maguire's defence of his China Open title faltered at the first hurdle with a 5-0 first-round defeat at the hands of Englishman Dave Harold.

Harold, who is ranked 26 places below Maguire, outclassed the world number two to set up a clash with Peter Ebdon, who beat Chinese wildcard Tang Jun 5-3.

Two-time world champion John Higgins came from 4-0 down to overcome Anthony Hamilton in a final-frame decider.

Ricky Walden also progressed with a 5-2 win over world number 12 Joe Perry.

I don't know how to sum it up without swearing Stephen Maguire on his 5-0 defeat

A break of 78 in the final frame carried Rob Milkins to a 5-4 triumph over Northern Ireland's Joe Swail, and he will now face Stephen Hendry in the first round proper on Wednesday.

Maguire's form was solid in the run-up to the tournament, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Masters semi-finals and making the last eight at the Welsh Open.

But the Scot, who plays Jamie Burnett in his opening World Championship match next month, admitted he was hugely disappointed by his form before he heads to Sheffield.

"Dave played a little bit better than me, had some run of the ball and left me in trouble every time I came to the table," said the Scot. "It was very, very bad. I don't know how to sum it up without swearing."

Higgins thought he was also heading for an early flight home before staging a comeback from 4-0 down for only the second time in his career.

606: DEBATE Well played Dave Harold. It was great to watch, especially that last frame - a beauty. sthendry

A break of 58 in the ninth frame proved sufficient to complete the Scot's revival after the interval.

"At 4-0 it wasn't looking very good. Anthony was a semi-finalist at the Welsh Open and is on a good run of form," Higgins said. "I thought what flight was I going home on."

Walden will face either Milkins or Hendry in the second round and is looking to repeat the form that saw him upset a series of top-six players to lift the Shanghai Masters title in October.

The 26-year-old beat Hendry, Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan on that occasion, having never progressed beyond the quarter-final stage of a ranking tournament before.

"I like travelling and the Chinese audience are great to play in front of," he said. "A lot of players don't like the travel but I enjoy getting on a plane."

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