Chris Melling
KEIGHLEY'S Chris Melling was beaten 5-1 by wild-card entrant Zhao Xintong in the first round of the Wuxi Classic in China – the season's opening world-ranking event in Wuxi City.
The Magician only avoided a whitewash by winning the fifth frame 75-39 after China's sixth-ranked under-21 player had made breaks of 75, 54, and 97 to lead 4-0.
Xintong, who defeated Andrew Norman 5-3 in the wild-card round, won 111(75)-15, 81(54)-9, 56-54, 105(97)-7, 39-75, 66-43.
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