Robertson suffers defeat at Xi’an Grand Prix to miss out on blockbuster O’Sullivan clash

Trump seals Shanghai Masters title with record 10th century

Neil Robertson suffered another early exit at a ranking event, as the 2010 world champion lost 5-2 to Yuan Sijun in the second round of the Xi’an Grand Prix on Tuesday.

The Melbourne star endured a forgettable campaign last season, reaching only one ranking event semi-final, as he dropped out of the top 16.

And the world No. 27 will not be content with his latest reverse in losing to China’s Yuan, in the round of 64 at the new ranking tournament in Xi’an.

Robertson never led in the match against the world No. 41 despite producing breaks of 52 and 92, with his opponent progressing to a meeting with Ronnie O’Sullivan or Bulcsu Revesz in the last 32 on Wednesday.

Reigning world champion Kyren Wilson had no such problem as he eased into the last 32 with a 5-2 win over He Guoqiang, which included breaks of 72, 69 and 57 – plus a 101 and 54 from He.

Ding Junhui’s conqueror, Alfie Burden, is out after losing a tight final-frame decider to Xu Si.

Burden enjoyed runs of 59, 102, 51 and 69 to lead 4-2, but Xu claimed the final three frames, closing with a 55 to secure a last-32 meeting with Jamie Jones or Stuart Bingham.

There was also a fine victory for 2006 world champion Graeme Dott, who accounted for International champion Zhang Anda with a 5-2 victory.

The Scot won the final four frames from 2-1 behind, with breaks of 80, 102 and 53. Dott next meets Hossein Vafaei for a last-16 spot.

Xi’an Grand Prix latest results

Graeme Dott 5-2 Zhang AndaHossein Vafaei 5-3 Dylan EmeryDaniel Wells 5-3 Julien LeclercqRicky Walden 5-3 Anthony McGilKyren Wilson 5-2 He GuoqiangXu Si 5-4 Alfie BurdenYuan Sijun 5-2 Neil Robertson