Wild edged out by in-form Higgins

NEARLY BUT NOT QUITE: Michael Wild was in good form but lost to John Higgins

MICHAEL Wild produced three sizeable breaks, but it still wasn't enough to see off John Higgins in the first round of the English Open.

The Moorside ace hit a 66 and a 93 in a nip-and-tuck first-round tie at Event City in Manchester to hold the four-time world champion to 2-2 in what was a tight contest.

Higgins, who reached the quarter-finals of last year's World Championship before losing out to compatriot Alan McManus, took the next frame to edge 3-2 ahead.

And though Wild hit a 55 break in the next, the Scot took the frame 77-55 to triumph 4-2 and land a date with Mark King in round two.

Oldham-based Hamza Akbar suffered a 4-1 first-round loss to Neil Robertson in spite of making an excellent start.

A 92 break saw Akbar take the first frame but Robertson hit back strongly with a 139 in the next to level. The Aussie ace also produced an 82 and a 71 on the way to a comfortable win and will face Duane Jones in the next stage.

Elsewhere, Ronnie O'Sullivan bounced back in sensational form to secure his place in the second round.

O'Sullivan won the opening frame of his match against compatriot Jimmy Robertson, breaking just shy of a century with 97, before taking his second frame by a slightly less commanding 70-42.

But 'The Rocket' made light work of the third to score 63-2 and the former world number one ended on a high, breaking with 66 to win his fourth and final frame 90-25 and whitewash his opponent.

Meanwhile, O'Sullivan's Masters adversary Judd Trump - who beat him 9-8 in the European Masters in Romania last week - was on fine form to make light work of Irishman Ken Doherty.

Trump took a convincing lead over veteran Doherty breaking with 71 to win the first frame and the world number three stormed ahead by three frames, after a second-frame break of 64 and third-frame run of 56.

Doherty then recorded the highest break of the match, picking up 75 to get a foot back in the game in the fourth frame, winning 75-8.

The comeback was short-lived, though, with Trump pipping him to the post in the fifth an final frame (63-53) to win the match 4-1.