Nick Matthew gave an early answer to those who claim he is too old to complete a hat-trick of world titles, delivering an impressively rapid opening win from a difficult first-round draw.
The 32-year-old Englishman overcame the top-20 Swiss player Nicolas Mueller in less than 40 minutes, a sturdy effort given his early nerves and his opponent's hard-hitting potential.
Matthew also finished his 11-8 11-6 11-4 win with a brilliant stream of volleying winners, underlining his threat as still one of the sharpest lateral movers in the game.
'I felt a bit more nervous than usual because it was one of the toughest opening matches you could get,' the world champion said.
'It's also an unusual court.'
Matthew was referring to the combination of a fast front wall with contrasting ball-slowing cool air, but he found that when changes did come they were changes in his favour.
'I was told it's a court on which you either feel like a million dollars or like zero dollars.'
Matthew may be more relaxed for his second round, against Australian Zac Alexander, the world No.49 who saved five match points in surviving 11-9 8-11 5-11 13-11 14-12 against Peter Creed, a qualifier from Wales.
Matthew's projected quarter-final opponent, Amr Shabana, the four-times former world champion scored an encouraging 11-6 11-4 11-9 win over Ivan Yuen, a Malaysian qualifier.
Fellow Egyptian and former world No.1 Ramy Ashour, the unofficial favourite for the title, won well - 11-7 12-10 11-8 over his compatriot, Marwan Shorbagy, the world junior champion.
French third seed Greg Gaultier enjoyed a 11-5 11-5 11-1 win against Mohammed Abbas, yet another Egyptian.
