Graeme Dott fears exhaustion will kill off his hopes of winning snooker ’ s Betfred World Championship . The 37-year-old , a qualifier this year , survived a series of twitches close to the winning line before clinching a 10-8 first-round victory over Ricky Walden at the Crucible in Sheffield on Sunday . He bungled a yellow but was reprieved when Walden blazed the green off the table . And although Walden looked for snookers , his tournament was over once Dott dropped in the blue . Dott , who is through to the last 16 , remains aggrieved by having to play three best-of-19-frame matches just to get to the main draw . The previous format meant a player of his standing had just one to negotiate . Graeme Dott celebrates after booking his place in the second round of the World Championships . The 37-year-old survived a series of twitches close to the winning line before clinching a 10-8 first-round win . ‘ If you get qualifiers that are just happy to be here at the Crucible and get their pictures taken the three matches help , ’ Dott said who won the title in 2006 . ‘ But if you ’ ve got aspirations to win it ’ s going to hinder you later on . ‘ You can see fatigue kicking in if you got to the semis because of those three extra matches . ‘ I ’ ve been to three finals and know how tiring it is. ’ But he added : ‘ I wasn ’ t here last year which was a horrible feeling . It ’ s nice to know you can still do it at the Crucible. ’ Meanwhile , John Higgins impressed with a 10-5 victory over Robert Milkins , and looked to be approaching the form that last saw him take the last of his four world titles in 2011 . Milkins said of his conqueror : ‘ It ’ s going to take a good man to beat him on that form . I did well to get five frames. ’ John Higgins impressed with a 10-5 victory over Robert Milkins in his first-round clash in Sheffield .
Graeme Dott had to play three best-of-19-frame matches to qualify . He overcame Ricky Walden 10-8 in first-round Crucible clash . But former world champion fears exhaustion will ruin his bid for 2015 title . Meanwhile , John Higgins impressed with a 10-5 victory over Robert Milkins .