体坛英语新闻：Selby, Higgins reach quarterfinals at Snooker Masters

LONDON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three-time champion Mark Selby and four-time former world champion John Higgins reached the quarterfinals after winning opening day's competitions of the Snooker Masters at Alexandra Palace here on Sunday.

World No. 1 Selby overcame a scare to scrape through his first round match 6-5 against Mark Davis, while Higgins eased past third seed Stuart Bingham 6-2 in the evening match.

Selby led 4-0 but Davis pulled back to 5-5 before the defending champion won a tense 55 minute decider.

"I controlled the match to go 4-0 ahead, but I seemed to go back out and lose focus," said Selby. "For whatever reason, I struggled a bit. Every credit to Mark. He came back strongly. You just have to wipe out everything that has gone before and focus on the final frame.

Higgins, who has won just one ranking title since capturing his fourth World Championship crown in 2011, registered a comfortable win over out-of-sorts Bingham.

The Wizard of Wishaw will next meet Selby in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

"I played better than I have in recent months," said the 38-year-old Higgins. "Stuart didn't play well, maybe there was a bit of extra pressure on him as he was the seeded player and expected to win."