By Jonny Bryan BBC Sport at the Telford International Centre

Selby will meet Stephen Hendry in the last 16

Mark Selby says he "surprised himself" by fighting back from 8-4 down to beat Jamie Cope 9-8 in the first round of the UK Championship in Telford.

The Leicester potter reeled off breaks of 101 and 115 before sealing the match with a 73 clearance in the final frame.

He said: "I surprised myself actually with the way in which I came back.

"I have been playing well and it was frustrating to be 8-4 down. I took it one frame at a time and I managed to come through."

The former Masters champion and current world number seven has struggled for top form recently and has dropped to 15 in the provisional rankings.

606: DEBATE What a match! Congratulations to Selby on a season-turning performance oneball2

But Selby says the victory over Cope has given him the belief to progress further in the tournament.

"I will have all the confidence in the world after this match," he said.

"Coming into this tournament I was low on confidence, with not the best start to the season.

"I knew it was going to be a hard game against a top qualifier in Jamie. He's a great player, we practice quite a bit and I am just really glad to get over the line."

Selby now meets five-times UK Champion Stephen Hendry in the last 16.

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