Carter led three times in the all-Essex first-round clash, but Davis' tactical mind remains sharp and he managed to ally it with a wonderful display of break-building.

Carter went 1-0 up after a 68 and, after Davis responded with 61 to level the match, the world number 11 moved ahead once more. Davis produced a vintage 121 clearance, though, to leave the players level once more at 2-2.

He had to come from behind again after Carter took frame five with an 83, but he levelled with 63 and then produced his second century clearance, 117, to take the match.

"I played with a certain amount of freedom and took my chances," said Davis. "My dad, who is still my coach, said that I'm playing well enough in practice for it all to come together in a match, and that happened today.

"I don't like it when I lose, but when it goes right it's lovely and I have to enjoy the moment. My aim now is to keep my ranking lower than my age and to see

how long I can keep that going.

"You have to look at every match as, at best, the toss of a coin. I could keep winning or I could go out in the next round."

Whitewash

Judd Trump cruised through 4-0 against Fergal O'Brien to set up a showdown against the winner of Stuart Bingham's clash with Mark King.

Trump took the opening frame despite a kick when on a break of 58, and he made a 61 in the second before returning to finish the frame off with some exhibition shots.

He took the third after O'Brien jawed a long red and saved his best for last, sealing the match with a break of 104.

Ding Junhui also enjoyed a 4-0 success, hammering Mark Davis in the morning session.

Breaks of 81, 45 and 44 helped the two-time UK champion compile a 3-0 lead, looking almost entirely untroubled.

Half centuries

And the Chinese player took the fourth with a pair of half-century contributions to set up a clash with world champion John Higgins.

Crucible king Higgins was a high-profile winner in the evening, setting up another Chinese clash with Ding after he defeated compatriot Lian Wenbo 4-1.

Michael Holt enjoyed an equally comfortable win over Welshman Ryan Day in the qualifying round.

The Nottingham potter surged into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 79 and 72 and took a tight third frame before also completing a 4-0 whitewash.

Shaun Murphy overcame Mark Joyce 4-2 after a slow start, coming from 2-0 down with breaks of 65, 71, 71 and 89 to turn the match around, while Tom Ford overcame Graeme Dott 4-2.