John Higgins would love to land a fifth Crucible title and vowed “the fire is still there” after making an eye-catching start in Sheffield.

The way the 39-year-old Scot breezed past Robert Milkins augured well for his prospects at the World Championship, although a challenging draw means he may have to beat Ding Junhui, Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan successively to reach another final.

Higgins won his opening match 10-5 and looks to be approaching the form that saw him last take the title four years ago. He plundered breaks of 77, 75, 69 and a clinching 106 in the second session, which was swiftly over without a hint of a Milkins fightback.

Asked directly whether he was a potential champion, Higgins initially said: “Nah. There’s more and more contenders out there. I probably know what it takes to win it but there’s more favoured players than me.”

But unmistakably he does have one eye on the trophy, and he added: “It would be amazing if I could win it and go level with somebody like Ronnie O’Sullivan on five titles.

“That would be beyond my dreams. The fire is still there.”

Other results: Robertson bt Jones 10-2; Hawkins bt Selt 10-9.