Home favourite John Higgins has played down his chances of winning the Scottish Open after reaching the second round on Monday night. The 43-year-old did enough to beat amateur Adam Duffy as he reached the last-64.

Higgins stormed into a 2-0 lead thanks to breaks of 62 and 64 before then conceding the next two frames as the match went into a decider. He eventually got the job done thanks to a break of 53 but the veteran admits his form is not good enough.

Higgins confirmed last week he considered retiring after his 6-5 loss to Alan McManus at the UK Championship.

He reached the final of the China Championship back in September but the four-time world champion does not believe he will get much further than the second round in Scotland this week.

“I wouldn’t have played if it wasn’t here in Glasgow. There isn’t far to travel,” he told World Snooker. “I was out watching the Scottish League Cup football final a couple of weeks ago when I hurt my rib.

“It would be amazing if I could go far, but I really don’t think I will get much further in this event. Adam played well today and potted a few good balls, but he missed some crucial ones so I was lucky.”

While Higgins progressed, fellow countrymen Stephen Maguire and Anthony McGill both lost in the first round. Defending champion Neil Robertson started his campaign with a 4-1 defeat of Peter Lines.

Higgins is now 11.00 to win the event but his comments will be welcomed by favourite Judd Trump. The latter is 5.00 to lift the trophy this week.