Chinese ace snooker Ding Junhui competes at the Hainan Snooker Classic in Boao, south China's Hainan province, March 10, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

BOAO, South China - Chinese sensation Ding Junhui suffered an opening loss at the Hainan Snooker Classic, beaten by former world champion Graeme Dott of Scotland on Thursday in Boao, a county of south China's Hainan province.

Neither the 2006 world champion Dott nor the third-ranked Ding were at their best and both made several mistakes. The 34-year-old Dott fought hard from 16-18 down and took the first frame at 60-18.

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During the second frame, Dott immediately found his form and then he secured his victory with a break of 141.

The first loss did not upset Ding. He said he did not care about the result since it was an invitation play. "I'm here to relax myself," said Ding. As for the format of best of three, Ding thought it was very fast and refresh, and he felt good in spite of a loss.

"At the first frame, I was not good," said Dott, "and the second frame I did well." As for the format, Dott said it depended on luck a lot. "It's like tossing a coin, and it's very hard to say who's going to win."

Ding will meet his compatriot Yu Delu and Englishman Ricky Walden next day.