Stephen Hendry says he needs to improve his game significantly to have any chance of defending the British Open title. The Scot beat Terry Murphy 5-2 in the second round at Plymouth last night but failed to engage top gear and could only console himself with the knowledge that he was still involved in the tournament.

''I won but that's the only thing I can take from that performance,'' said Hendry. ''I'll have no chance of winning the tournament if I play like that again.

''Terry could easily have won the match from the amount of chances he had in each frame, so I'll have to improve in my next game."

Hendry, who now meets world No.75 Robert Milkins for a place in the quarter-finals, constructed a break of 60 to lead 3-1 and, after Murphy had closed to 3-2 with a run of 48, the seven-times world champion cleared with 53 to lead

4-2 before clinching the seventh on the black for victory.

World No.1 Mark Williams came perilously close to elimination before scraping through.

Williams, playing his first match in a ranking tournament since he won the world title five months ago, had to hold off a determined James Wattana before clinching a dramatic 5-4 victory. He then admitted he should be on his way home to Wales.

''I was lucky to win and I feel that James should have beaten me,'' Williams said.

''He had a lot of the run throughout the match but didn't have the luck when it mattered in the last frame.''

Williams had not lost his first match in a ranking event since February 1998 but Wattana, who has slipped to twenty-seventh in the world from a career-highest third after several lean seasons, threatened a shock result by opening a 2-0 lead.

Williams appeared to have grasped the nettle by claiming the next four frames, but Wattana fought back to draw level and appeared to be clearing up for victory, only to suffer a kick on the blue during a break of 34.

Williams, who clinched victory on the green, later claimed that the cloth on the bed of the table had made life difficult for both players.

''The cloth was too thin and it made the table unplayable, there was no response there at all and you couldn't control the cue ball.

''I hope they change it otherwise the snooker won't be any good this week.''

The state of the tables could be the least of Stephen Lee's problems should reports that he failed a drugs test at last month's Champions Cup in Brighton be confirmed.

The world No.5 from Wiltshire, who faces Dominic Dale in tonight's second round, is believed to have tested positive for marijuana.

The World Professional Snooker and Billiards Association refused to comment last night.

Lee is a member of Ian Doyle's Cuemasters stable which includes Hendry, Williams, and world No.4 Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Second round - J Perry (England) beat J Parrott (England) 5-2; R Milkins (England) beat J Swails (N Ireland) 5-2; G Ponting (England) wo A Hamilton (England) scr; P Hunter (England) beat B Snaddon (Scotland) 5-4; M King (England) beat M Fu (Hong Kong) 5-4; D Harold (England) beat S Ali (Pakistan) 5-4; M Williams (Wales) beat J Wattana (Thailand)

5-4, S Hendry (Scotland) bt T Murphy (N Ireland) 5-2.