JOHN HIGGINS says his confidence is high as he targets a fourth Betway UK Championship crown following a 6-3 first-round win over Alex Borg at the York Barbican.

Wishaw’s Higgins already has won two ranking titles this November after triumphs at the Champion of Champions and China Championship in successive weeks.

And despite a disappointing 4-1 loss to Mark Williams at the Northern Ireland Open last week, his impressive 132 break in the first frame – the highest so far this week – looked ominous for Borg.

But the 47-year-old world No 120 shook off Higgins’ start and with the scores locked at 2-2 at the mid-session interval, he was right in the game.

World No 4 Higgins had too much class however, compiling two further half-centuries on his way to booking a second-round clash with Noppon Saengkham.

A buoyant Higgins, 41, said: “You do fancy your chances, but there’s only you that fancies yourself. I am feeling confident, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win.

“I wouldn’t say I am overdue another UK title, if I don’t win another one I have won three and they were great, great titles, but you would obviously still love to win one.

“I didn’t play great here, but it is a job done. I have not picked up my cue since Ireland and I have just got a new tip on as well, so that was basically the first shot I had with it.

“It started well at 132, but I knew it was going to go downhill because I haven’t put the work in.

“I am looking forward to the rest of the tournament and I will practice over the next few days to get ready for that.”

And after watching world No 13 Kyren Wilson fall by the wayside and two-time UK champion Ding Junhui pushed close by Igor Figueiredo on day one, the four-time world champion was in a cautious mood in York.

“It was touch and go at points and he probably should have gone 3-2 in front in the fifth, but I managed to pinch it,” he said.

“Alex made a 93 and when you see Ding, who only won 6-5 against Igor and Kyren Wilson, I was just bracing myself for a battle.”

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