John Higgins is a man in a hurry this week.

The world No. 5 is desperate to get back to winning ways as soon as possible after a dreadful 12 months and sees the British Open as the perfect opportunity to start his revival.

But there is a more important reason for the Scot wanting to see off his opponents in quickfire fashion at the Brighton Centre. His wife is expecting a baby any moment and Higgins is ready to head back north at the drop of a hat.

Higgins starts his challenge for the title he won three years ago against the winner of Mark Davis and Drew Henry tonight but admits his thoughts may be elsewhere.

He said: "If I get a phone call I would make the journey back up to Scotland straight away. My family is the most important thing to me and I would not be able to forgive myself if something went wrong and I was not there.

"Hopefully it will not come to it but babies have their own timetables so I would have no hesitation in pulling out of the tournament if Denise goes into labour.

"The perfect scenario would be to win the tournament and then become a dad. That would be brilliant but we'll have to see how things pan out."

The way things have been going for Higgins of late, achieving his dream double seems unlikely.

After winning the World Championship in 1998 the 29-year-old topped the rankings for the next two years but a dramatic loss of form saw him drop out of the top four for the first time in nine years at the end of last season.

He has not won a ranking title since 2001 and admits he has consulted a sports psychologist to try to rebuild his shattered confidence.

He said: "It does knock your confidence when you start losing to players you know you shouldn't be losing to but you have just got to come back stronger from it.

"I have been playing a couple of decent matches and then losing very easily. Sometimes the other guy has been too good but other times it has been my own doing.

"You only get what you deserve in this game and I have not been playing well enough to win anything but maybe dropping out of the top four is the kick up the backside I need."

The Brighton Centre could be just the place for Higgins to rediscover the knack of winning.

He triumphed in the Champions Cup at the same venue four years ago and 12 months ago became the first man to score maximum breaks in consecutive matches when he made 147 in the first round against Michael Judge a fortnight after clearing the table in the final of the LG Cup.

Higgins also scored a maximum in the first tournament this season but said: "I would gladly give up scoring the maximums to start winning games again.

"I know I am good enough to come back and play like I did before but it is just a case of going out there and doing it. The longer I go without winning something the harder it seems to get."