Robertson, Selby out of snooker Masters first round
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E-mail Xinhua, January 9, 2023
Defending champion Neil Robertson and three-time winner Mark Selby were both ousted from snooker's 2023 Masters in the opening round on Sunday.
Robertson, 40, took the first frame with a break of 73 against Shaun Murphy, but then lost five frames in a row in Sunday's first match at London's Alexandra Palace.
The Australian managed to take three frames back, but Murphy sealed the victory by winning the 10th frame.
"I'm delighted," Murphy was quoted by the World Snooker Tour website. "It looked like we were going to a decider. The break I made in the last frame, I'm very proud of that to be able to stand up under pressure. "
Later, world No. 2 Selby was stunned by tournament debutant Hossein Vafaei, as the Iranian made two centuries to win 6-2.
Vafaei made his Masters debut on Sunday as he replaced China's world No. 9 Zhao Xintong, who was suspended for being under investigation into allegations of match fixing.
After splitting the first four frames with Selby, the 28-year-old took four frames in a row to advance.
Vafaei will face either John Higgins or Jack Lisowski in the quarterfinals, while Murphy waits for the winner between Kyren Wilson and Stuart Bingham
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