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World champion Neil Robertson was edged out of the Shanghai Masters 5-4 by Peter Ebdon at the first-round stage.

A missed pink from Robertson in the deciding frame when looking well set proved to be the decisive factor as Ebdon took full advantage to rattle off a winning break of 62.

There was perhaps a hint of a kick on the shot from the Australian, but it was a miss which was in keeping with a poor match.

Ebdon had complained coming into the tournament that he was short of practice after getting married for the second time in the summer.

Ebdon looked true to his word as he failed to break with any sort of fluidity and often looked to snooker his opponents rather than take on the tougher shot.

However he battled well to stay in the contest and took advantage of the opportunities which were given him by the reigning world champion.

A former world champion also out of the tournament is Steve Davis who lost 5-3 to Jamie Cope in a low-scoring match which saw neither player break more than 50, or score more than 100.

Stoke's Cope sealed victory with a break of 27 in the eighth frame and will meet the winner of the match between Ding Junhui and Jin Long.

Cope's fellow Stoke cueman Dave Harold lost a tight encounter to Ali Carter 5-3.

Carter looked impressive in patches as he notched three half centuries, top-scoring with a break of 77.

Also through is Mark Selby who beat the Chinese wildcard Mei Xi Wen.

Wen showed glimpses of the form which saw him defeat Mike Dunn in qualifying. He top-scored with a break of 99 in the sixth frame, but in the end Selby's class saw him through as he won 5-2.

Dan Rumens / Eurosport