As birthday presents go, a place in the Betfred World Snooker Championship second round is worth staying up for – but Barry Hawkins insists he must improve if he wants to go any further.

The Ditton potter, who turned 39 on Monday, battled to a 10-7 win against qualifier Stuart Carrington at the Crucible to book a last-16 tie with Chinese youngster Lyu Haotian.

But it was a hard-fought, gruelling win and Hawkins, a former finalist in Sheffield, admits he was far from his best in match that finished just before midnight and went without a century break.

However, on Thursday he will be back for the start of his second-round contest – hoping to put in a far better display.

“I enjoyed the win, it is a decent birthday present because I am still in the tournament but it was a battle,” he said.

“He is a tough player, Stuart, he makes it hard for you and I was struggling for bits of that. But I am pleased with my attitude, I stayed calm and the more experience I have here made a difference in the end.

“We were both struggling. I could see he was not giving up, though, and I know he can score heavily when he gets going.

“Luckily for me, he kept missing a few and I just held myself together at the end. I have a few days off now.”

Hawkins took the lead in the first session on Monday, winning four of the first five frames that included breaks of 65 and 79, before a steady 78 from Carrington stopped the rot.

It was noticeable how much both players struggled, with their slow play meaning they only completed eight of nine frames.

Hawkins carried a 5-3 lead into the evening and won the first two frames to suggest a quick session was in store.

But Carrington bit back by winning four of the next five, despite the match becoming scrappier by the shot – with two frames lasting over 50 minutes – before Hawkins got over the line.

“I don’t care how I played because I won, that is all I am thinking about. Plenty of people have played badly in the first couple of rounds but then gone on and won it,” Hawkins added.

“For me, it was just about getting through that first game and now I will worry about how I play in the next game.

“All I was worried about was winning. Everyone dreams of winning it but the tournament is so long, you don’t know what is going to happen.

“I don’t think you can come here expecting to win the whole thing.”

Watch the snooker World Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.