Ding overpowers Stevens

China's Ding - fresh from beating Marco Fu three weeks ago to become the first overseas player to win the Masters at Wembley since Cliff Thorburn in 1986 - proved too strong for Stevens before a large crowd inside the 2,500-capacity Tempodrom in Berlin, host of the country's first ranking event since the demise of the German Open in 1997.

Ding made breaks of 40, 65 and 78 to open up a 3-0 lead.

He looked certain to move 4-0 ahead but broke down on 58 as a series of missed attempts to escape from a snooker on the yellow helped Stevens pinch his only frame of the match on the final black.

Normal service was resumed after the mid-session interval as runs of 55, 43 and 36 helped Ding seal his progress with some ease.

Ding said: "I played OK today. It's a new experience out there, there's a lot happening at once so you need to keep your concentration, but I'm happy overall."

Seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry is also through to the last 16 after a 5-2 win over Judd Trump that could help the Scot protect his top 16 status ahead of the World Championship at the Crucible in April.

Hendry was struggling with his technique in losing to Mark Williams at the UK Championship and Neil Robertson at the Masters, but showed flashes of his true form as knocks of 58, 51, 68 and 91 handed him a morale-boosting success.

"It was a big game for both of us and I think that showed," Hendry told reporters. "I need wins so every match is important, but I'm also playing for my own pride too.

"We've done a number of exhibitions in Germany and the crowd know good snooker - they clap good shots at the right time and really seem to appreciate the game. A lot of credit goes to Eurosport for promoting snooker over here and this is a fantastic venue, it's got a great feel about it."

Ding will take on the winner of Peter Ebdon's match with Andrew Higginson. Hendry is set to face Mark Selby or Nigel Bond, a seasoned campaigner who showed his class by emerging victorious in last weekend's shoot-out in Blackpool.

In the wildcard round to reach the last 32, Anthony McGill was handed a 5-0 whitewash of Mario Wehrmann after his Dutch opponent failed to show up, while Robert Milkins downed Lasse Munstermann 5-1.

Daniel Wells proved too strong for Liu Song as he completed a 5-2 victory.