Ding Junhui produced the biggest upset so far at the ongoing China Open as he trounced the UK's Peter Ebdon 5-0 Wednesday to enter the top 16 at Beijing's Haidian Stadium.

The 17-year-old Chinese prodigy maintained his form after beating world No.32 Mark Davis on Sunday, with superb long pots and steady snookers despite his opponent's reputation.

"This was a good match as I really played some good snooker," said Ding. "I went for some long distance reds and, with the help of some luck, I made them all.

"I told myself to slow down a little bit and tried to avoid errors, but I am sure Peter didn't play at his best."

World No.9 Ebdon, who won the world title in 2002, seemed to lose his stride under Ding's relentless potting, suffering two blanks in the third and fourth frames.

"Ding played very very well today," said Ebdon. "I left him too many chances and someone is going to have to play very very well to beat him."

"A single victory cannot prove anything. What I need is to train hard and keep winning matches," said Ding. "My target this season is to break into the top 32 in the overall rankings."

Steven Hendry also made a fine start with a 5-1 win over fellow UK player Robert Milkins.

The seven-time world champion has practiced relentlessly since the New Year and has continued his hard work since arriving in the capital last Saturday.

"I have been playing at least a couple of hours a day, either on my own or with Mark Williams," said the 36-year-old. "I don't usually practice that much during tournaments, but there's not much on television here so it gives me something to do."

"The crowd here is fantastic," he added.

(China Daily March 31, 2005)