Lee eases past Drago to set up Ebdon clash

England's Stephen Lee beat Malta's Tony Drago 10-5 yesterday to set up a second-round match against Peter Ebdon at the world championship.

Lee, who was ahead from the start and notched up three century breaks, was pleased with his form after losing in the first round at the Crucible last year.

"I'm feeling quite good and it's nice to get a few tons. I knew if I got a clear-cut chance I'd score and I haven't felt like that for a couple of seasons," he told reporters.

When Lee and Ebdon met at the same stage four years ago, Lee was unhappy with his opponent's over-the-top celebrations after sealing a dramatic 13-12 win.

The ninth seed insists, however, that the incident has been forgotten. "I was unhappy at the time, but he's apologised," Lee said. "He's a good match player and I'm looking forward to playing him."

On Wednesday night, 2002 champion Ebdon, cruised to a 10-2 win over Quinten Hann.

Borrowed cue

Ebdon praised his opponent Hann after learning that he had been forced to play with a borrowed cue.

"You can't compete with a cue that's not your own and all credit to him because he didn't throw the towel in," said Ebdon.

"That's a tremendous professional attitude and I've got a lot of respect for him because he's a very good player."

Hann revealed that he only discovered the butt of his cue had been lost in transit the night before the match.

Stephen Hendry opened up a commanding 6-2 lead over Anthony Hamilton in the opening session of their second round match.