The seven-time world champion has only won two matches so far this season.
Stephen Hendry barely got a shot as he crashed out of the English Open on Tuesday following a heavy 4-0 defeat to Chris Wakelin in Milton Keynes.
Wakelin has been one of the few competitors to suffer a defeat at the hands of the seven-time world champion since the latter’s comeback was announced a little over a year ago.
The 29 year-old, however, produced one of his best ever performances to gain revenge against Hendry in their English Open round-of-64 affair at the Marshall Arena.
A break of 135 in the opening frame set the tone for the remainder of the contest, and Wakelin added runs of 141 and 85 to leave his esteemed opponent with a tally of just 18 points.
Elsewhere, a lot of the favourites for glory in this year’s English Open continued in the tournament and moved forward to the last 32.
Reigning champion Judd Trump was to made to work hard but eventually saw off the challenge of an in-form Jimmy Robertson, with world champion Mark Selby also advancing after outplaying Jamie Wilson.
John Higgins was in a fine scoring mood as he thumped Oliver Lines 4-0 with contributions of 89, 88, 84, and 70, while Kyren Wilson denied Ashley Carty.
Barry Hawkins and Anthony McGill were two more from the batch of likely contenders for the title who progressed, beating Jak Jones and Gerard Greene respectively.
Stuart Bingham, Graeme Dott, and Ricky Walden were three notable names who couldn’t qualify for the next round, though, with each ending up on the wrong side of 4-3 scorelines.
Bingham went down to the dogged Dubliner Fergal O’Brien, Dott surrendered a 3-0 lead in losing to Mark Davis, while Walden couldn’t build on his recent run in Northern Ireland after being downed by Sunny Akani.
Among the others to advance were Zhao Xintong, Lu Ning, Mark King, and Robbie Williams, while amateur duo Ross Muir and Paul Deaville also remain alive in the competition.
On Wednesday, the round of 64 continues with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui rejoining the fray, while later on the last 32 also gets under way.
Click here to view the full 2021 English Open draw (times: CET)
Where to Watch the English Open
The tournament will be available to UK and Irish viewers on Quest TV in addition to blanket Eurosport coverage provided across all of Europe.
Various broadcasters around the world will be offering coverage (information here), while fans in territories without another service can access the event through Matchroom.Live.
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