Murphy nearly sees Greene, Greene grass of home
Shaun Murphy sat out a five frame revival by Gerard Greene before clinching his first round victory in the 2010 Betfred.com World Championship at the Crucible.
Resuming 8-1 up after his first session, former Champion Shaun Murphy struggled to put the finishing touches to the match.
Greene opened the afternoon brightly with visits of 38 and 50 before Murphy got to within one frame of the winning line.
That frame could easily have gone to Greene as a low scoring frame dragged on for thirty-three minutes before Murphy potted blue and pink.
Undeterred, Greene knocked in breaks of 67 and 65 to stretch the match beyond the last interval.
And he carried on to win a further three frames, including breaks of 55 and 92 before Murphy eventually pounced on an opening and stroked in 87 to set up a mouth-watering second round clash with Ding Junhui.
Murphy's victory ensured that there will be seven former champions still in contention in round two.
Graeme Dott won the repeat of the 2006 final against Peter Ebdon. Dott's victory ended Ebdon's unbroken run in the Top 16 since 1994.
"I am bitterly disappointed to lose my place", said Ebdon, adding "but at the same time I am immensely proud to have maintained a Top 16 place for that length of time."
Ebdon and Dott were the first players to voice any dissent about the playing conditions.
Both were scathing of "square" bounces from the cushions on Table 2. But as soon as their match finished a scheduled re-cushioning of both tables took place overnight.
