Davis delights fans in China

The evergreen Steve Davis claimed passage to the last 16 of the €290,000 China Open today, delighting his multitude of Chinese fans by whitewashing Nottingham’s Michael Holt 5-0.

The 47-year-old, trying to book his 23rd season as a member of the sport’s elite top 16 in the world rankings, only arrived in Beijing yesterday and having slept all day, woke at 9pm and stayed up all night in a bid to keep his body clock ticking properly for the match that began at 10am local time.