Day 3 of Indian Open sees favourites cruise to Round of 16 

Day 3 of the Indian Open started with Ken Doherty, Ricky Walden, Sean O'Sullivan and Mark King each taking to the snooker tables at the Novotel, in the morning session.

Doherty's match was against Sam Baird, which was saw some spirited back-and-forth swings. Though the match was closely contested, eventually Doherty came out on top, winning 4-3.

Walden and King had relatively easy outings as they defeated their respective opponents comfortably. Xu Si of China won against O'Sullivan in another close fought battle.

Hossein Vafaei of Iran, who is also the first pro circuit player from the country, made it into the round of 16 by defeating Gerard Greene 4-2.

Shaun Murphy, who is a favourite to win the tournament, looked to have found a bit of form in his match today with Fergal O'Brien. With two century breaks of 125 and 105 and another of 95, the Brit won the match comfortably. Up next for him is Elliot Slessor.

John Higgins didn't have too many problems with his game either, as he won 4-2 against Martin O'Donnell. While he doesn't seem to be in the irresistible form that took him to the final at the Crucible earlier this year, his vast experience and smart gameplay have helped him find a way past his opponents. He will next face Michael Holt.

Stuart Bigham also made it to the last 16 with an easy win over Matthew Selt.

With the star players still in the tournament, the concluding rounds seem set for some exciting snooker. The matches of the evening session from 6 pm are being shown on Sony Espn.

Though it is just for a match or two, Indian snooker fans are lucky to be seeing these stars on TV, playing a ranking tournament. The live audience at Vizag also seems to be enjoying the tight contests on the snooker tables.