Davis beaten in China
The St Leonards-based world number 15 lost 5-3 to 21st-ranked Chinese cueman Liang Wenbo - a player he had previously beaten once and lost to once this season.
Wenbo took the opening frame with two 30+ breaks, but Davis rattled through the second in a single visit thanks to a run of 90. Two 40+ efforts gave Wenbo the third without conceding a point and an 80 in frame four put him 3-1 up at the interval.
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Hide AdDavis clinched the next two frames with a best break of 52 to level at 3-3 only for Wenbo to get his nose in front again by winning frame seven with a 52 of his own and then seal victory in the next.
Six-reds world champion Davis, who needs to remain in the world’s top 15 in order to qualify automatically for the season-ending World Championship, previously saw off English amateur Adam Wicheard 5-0 in round one on Monday with top breaks of 77 and 50.
Davis warmed-up for the World Open by taking part in Asian Tour event four last week. He came from 2-0 down to beat Chinese amateur Hu Hao 5-2 in round one with a top break of 55 before losing by the same score to 29th-ranked Ben Woollaston in round two despite a run of 77.