TWO-TIME world champion Adrian Lewis has backed Swindon’s Dennis Smith to use his vast experience to bounce back from his heavy defeat on Wednesday night.

Lewis strolled to an easy 3-0 victory in the pair’s World Championship first-round meeting with Smith, who didn’t win a leg or have a shot at a double, admitting he was a mile from his best.

World number three Lewis knows Smith is a much better player than he showed on the Alexandra Palace stage and believes the PDC stalwart will have no problem getting back on track when the tour resumes in January.

“What Dennis has to do now is what he’s done in the past, he just has to move on,” he said.

“That’s what I would have to do if I had lost, I would have turned around and said Dennis played better than me.

“We’ve both been around a long time now and Dennis has been around a lot longer than I have, so he knows what he has to do. He will be back on the board and will move on now.

“He can have a good Christmas at home now and move on to the next one.

“For Dennis, he has enough experience to do it and he’s a great player so I’m sure he will be back.”

Lewis now takes on rapid Dutchman Vincent van der Voort in round two and was pleased with the way he maintained his focus despite being able to coast through his first round match.

“Dennis didn’t play his best darts, that was obvious, and he’s better than the way he played for sure,” he said.

“He’s a seasoned pro but he’s gone up on the stage and had a bad night at the office, but I had to concentrate because if I didn’t it would have been a hard game.

“Dennis is methodical and slow but I kept my focus and I just made sure I took out the right shots at the right time. I think I did a really good job because the first round is always full of pressure, whoever you play, and it can be really hard.”