China's ace Ding Junhui suppressed Mark Williams's fightback to past the first round at the Snooker Masters 6-4 on Monday.

Ding, 23, was longing for a win over Williams, who beat him several times this season. He said he was quite relaxed in the opening stage but got a little bit nervous when his left-handed opponent chased to 4-5 from 2-5.

"I knew I had no chance unless I played well," said Ding, who suffered a first round exit here last year as he was defeated by final winner Mark Selby.

"At 5-4, I was hoping to get a chance. Then he missed the red ball. He was unlucky."

?Ding Junhui of China plays a shot during his first-round match against Mark Williams of Wales in 2011's Snooker Masters held at the Wembley Arena in London, Britain, Jan. 10, 2011. Ding won by 6:4 to enter the quarter-finals.

Two-time Masters champion Williams led the 10th frame at 48-0 but gave Ding a chance to hit back after missing a red ball.

The ninth seed Ding didn't let his hope go, wrapping it up at 75-48.

Ding will meet Graeme Dott in the quarterfinals as the 11th seed knocked out world No.1 John Higgins 6-4 in the other match later on Monday.

Dott, the 2006 world champion, took the first two frames, but Higgins managed to level at 3-3.

Then, Dott and Higgins took one frame each before Dott edged the next two for winning the match.