Scottish Open 2024: Ruthless Shaun Murphy sweeps past Daniel Wells in first round to set up Lei Peifan clash

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Shaun Murphy was in no mood to hang around, as the Englishman swept past Daniel Wells in the first round of the 2024 Scottish Open. Murphy rattled in a 120 clearance to kick off the 4-0 triumph to join Jack Lisowski, Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson in whitewashing their last-64 opponent. Lei Peifan will face the one-time finalist in the last 32, after comfortably defeating Hossein Vafaei 4-1.

'Laying down a marker' - Ruthless Murphy clinches opener from Wells with century clearance

Video credit: TNT Sports

Shaun Murphy made light work of last-64 opponent Daniel Wells, marching into the second round of the Scottish Open with a whitewash win under his belt.

The 42-year-old began his 4-0 victory on Tuesday evening with a ruthless century clearance, and his entry for shot of the tournament helped him go one away from a matchup with Lei Peifan.

And his final triumph showed yet another side to his game, coming back from 22-64 to steal the match-winning frame on the black.

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But despite the scoreline, Murphy held himself to high standards, noting he would have been pleased were it not for a couple of "absolute clangers".

"Do you know what?" Murphy told Eurosport. "Had I not missed those two absolute howlers in the match, I'd have come in here really pleased, played well, into the next round.

"But there were two absolute clangers and maybe on a different night the score would have been different.

'Unbelievable' - Murphy punches in 'shot of the tournament so far' against Wells

Video credit: TNT Sports

"You've got to do the ABC stuff well. That's what the [Steve] Davises and [Stephen] Hendrys did so well through their career. They didn't make those silly errors.

"And if I could tighten those up in my game, I reckon I could be dangerous."

Following an afternoon session that saw whitewash wins for Jack Lisowski, Mark Selby and world champion Kyren Wilson, Murphy proved he too will take some beating at this tournament.

And with world No.1 Judd Trump and two-time Scottish Open champion Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrawing, Murphy will fancy his chances of picking up his first title of the season here in Edinburgh.

Wells was given an immediate reminder of the task he was up against in the opening frame.

The Welshman came unstuck as he tried to build his first break and a poor safety was punished in ruthless fashion by Murphy, who cleared the table for an immaculate 120 break.

And Murphy was on his way to a maximum in the second frame, but ground to a halt at 72-0 with 72 points remaining on the table.

A drawn-out safety battle resulted in Wells clawing back 47 points before attempting to ensnare the one-time finalist.

Wells only succeeded in falling into a snooker trap himself, and Murphy eventually pulled past the finishing post.

Murphy displeased with 'two absolute howlers' in whitewash win over Wells

Video credit: TNT Sports

The third frame was lit up by a superb long red with no room for error from Murphy, though the Englishman subsequently struggled to close out the victory.

Wells was offered multiple chances to surge back from a 59-1 deficit, but Murphy's superb safety game once again proved too strong.

And finally, Murphy was not ready to give an inch to his opponent, even with the Welshman holding a 42-point lead and favourite to get his first frame on the scoreboard.

An ill-advised safety off a cushion-hugging red was costly for Wells, and Murphy took full advantage by clearing the table and booking his place in the last 32.

Murphy's next opponent, 21-year-old Lei rattled in three half-century breaks to dispatch Hossein Vafaei 4-1 and cause a minor upset.

In the other early evening match, Zhou Yuelong set up a meeting with tour-threatened Luca Brecel by beating compatriot Yuan Sijun 4-1.

Robertson: 'My overall game was good'

Neil Robertson boosted his chances of getting back into the world's top 16 as he squeezed into the next round with a 4-1 victory over Fan Zhengyi.

The Australian came out on top in a nervy encounter that was much closer than the scoreline suggests, as both players struggled to find their free-scoring best.

The Thunder started his first-round clash in much the same fashion that Murphy finished his, and even going into the fifth frame, his highest break remained a lowly 33.

Nonetheless, the Australian found himself 2-0 up after stealing the second from 50-0 down, but was not so fortunate in the next frame.

Fan could not quite reach triple figures, but a break of 84 was enough to offer the 23-year-old encouragement.

And while his stunning long red was the highlight of a scrappy, extended fourth frame, Robertson found enough quality to clear and take it 54-41.

'That is stunning' - Fan sinks sweetly-struck long red in Robertson battle

Video credit: TNT Sports

The pair each had a chance to take it too, especially Fan, who sunk the final red with a terrific screw shot, only to miss the resulting green, thumping the floor with his cue in frustration as he walked back to his chair.

That left the door open for Robertson to make his move, although none of the six colours were on their spots, so the table was far from easy.

However, with only a ten-point deficit to overcome, he duly cleared up, including the pink, to book his place in the second round.

"I was really happy," Robertson told Eurosport's Alan McManus afterwards. "Fan is one of the toughest draws you can have first round here.

"He's a ranking event winner, he beat Ronnie [O'Sullivan] here a couple of years ago.

"I was never going to play as well as I did against him in China a few weeks ago. I beat him 6-0 with four tons and everything went right.

"This was a match where there was never really an opportunity, from my point of view, to score heavily at all. I just had to try and pick off blues and baulk colours whenever I could.

"I thought overall my game was good. Shot selection was very good, and I just tried to pick up the pieces. I pinched a few frames, which was nice. Nothing to be critical of from my point of view."

He will now play Tom Ford for a place in the last 16, after the Shoot Out champion beat Antoni Kowalski 4-2.

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