A tired Judd Trump won his opening match at the Turkish Masters with a 5-0 victory over Michael Georgiou on Tuesday.
The Englishman, who lost the Welsh Open final to Joe Perry on Sunday, edged two close frames either side of a century break to lead 3-0.
Additional breaks of 61 and 75 completed the comprehensive scoreline in what was a held-over match from the qualifying round.
“I always feel like I’m going to score when I’m in, but when you pinch the close ones that’s when you give the real body blow,” a visibly tired Judd Trump told the World Snooker Tour.
“In the end it could have been a lot closer, but I managed to get over the line comfortably.”
“It’s always good to make centuries, and whenever you come to a new place it’s always nice to make them in front of new fans.
“It’s been tough (travelling from Wales). I’ve been really tired and sleepy the last day or two, and it’s draining whenever you reach the finals.
“It’s so hard to keep the momentum going, and I did feel very flat out there today and probably will do if I can get through the first few rounds.
“It’s obviously nice to come to new places on the tour, and obviously the more places we can go the better for snooker.
“I enjoy travelling – not so much after I’ve just lost in a final – but it’s nice to be able to forget about that and start a new tournament straight away.
“There’s been periods over the last year or two where we’ve played a tournament and had a really long break, which is difficult.
“To be able to play in a new event so quick is great for every snooker player.”
Elsewhere, there were plenty of matches in the first round proper as the action continued at the Nirvana Cosmopolitan Hotel.
Kyren Wilson, Shaun Murphy, and Luca Brecel all reached the last 32 with one-sided triumphs over their respective opponents.
Ding Junhui also made it through after fighting back from 4-1 behind to deny Robert Milkins in a decider.
Milkins generated headlines for the wrong reasons prior to the encounter after a boozy birthday bash ended with him having to visit the hospital.
Meanwhile, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh edged Stephen Maguire in a dramatic decider that may go a long way in aiding the Thai’s tour survival aspirations.
But Ricky Walden’s hopes of qualifying for the lucrative eight-player Tour Championship took a blow after losing by the same narrow margin to Sam Craigie.
Chinese trio Yan Bingtao, Zhou Yuelong, and Yuan Sijun advanced as well; Zhou after a 5-4 victory against European Masters champion Fan Zhengyi.
Among the others to progress were Jimmy Robertson, Oliver Lines, and Elliot Slessor, while Hossein Vafaei and Iulian Boiko negotiated the other held-over fixtures.
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Featured photo credit: WST
