Neil Robertson came from 5-3 down to win three frames in a row and beat Ding Junhui 6-5 in a superb opening match of the 2013 Masters at Alexander Palace on Sunday.

The defending champion led 2-0 and 3-2 before Ding took the sixth, seventh and eighth to leave him one from victory.

But the Australian left-hander hit back with breaks of 100, 62, and 90 in the decider, to reach the quarter-finals.

Robertson will play Mark Allen, who won four frames in a row to beat Mark Davis 6-2, in the last eight on Thursday.