LONDON - Former world No. 1 Ding Junhui of China fought back from behind to beat Northern Ireland's Joe Swail 4-3 in the second round of the Welsh Open in Cardiff on Tuesday.
Ding, who has slipped to 12th in the world, was behind 1-0 after the first frame as the 46-year-old Swail played a perfect defensive game.
The Chinese star then went ahead 2-1 thanks to brilliant breaks of 80 and 98 points.
Swail, a beaten finalist in 2009, won the next two frames to make it 3-2. But Ding, who was stopped in the first round at the UK Championship and the Masters, found his form and made a surprise comeback, winning two frames to seal the victory.
"He played his best, but at the crucial moment I told myself that I need to play my own style," Ding said after the match.
Ding, who won the Welsh Open in 2012 and reached the final in 2014, will next face Matthew Selt for a place in round of 16.
UK Championship finalist Liang Wenbo of China also advanced to the third round by beating Gary Wilson 4-1. He will next take on Michael White.
Yu Delu was the third Chinese player to progress, upsetting world No. 11 Ricky Walden 4-3.
But another two Chinese players were stopped in the second round. Tian Pengfei was crushed by three-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-0 and Li Hang lost to Joe Perry 4-2.
Marco Fu, from Hong Kong, China, defeated local player Daniel Wells 4-1 to set up a clash against former world champion Graeme Dott.
