O`Sullivan troubled as Robertson advances

Sheffield: Reigning champion Ronnie O`Sullivan endured a difficult opening session in his World Championship second round match against Joe Perry, while Australia`s Neil Robertson eased to a first round win on Thursday.

Five-time world champion O`Sullivan trailed 4-1 at the Crucible before reducing the deficit to 5-3 in his best-of-25 frame clash. Perry was quick out of the blocks, taking the opening frame before O`Sullivan levelled. That should have signalled O`Sullivan taking control, but Perry snatched the next two frames to go in at the mid-session interval 3-1 up. O`Sullivan was in trouble when he lost the fifth frame, however he produced a 116 clearance to reduce the deficit to two frames. He appeared to be finding fluency when he followed up with a decisive 75 to move to within a single frame of Perry. However, a break of 99 from Perry checked the progress of `The Rocket` and gave the 39-year-old the edge for when the match resumes on Friday. Earlier, 2010 world champion Robertson posted the tournament`s highest break as he wrapped up a 10-2 victory in his first round match against Robbie Williams. The world number one, who held a 7-2 overnight lead, did not take long to wrap up victory, following a clearance of 140 with a score of 102 as he booked a second round meeting with Mark Allen. The other second round match started on Thursday saw Mark Selby establish a 5-3 lead over two-time losing finalist Ali Carter.