Day of reckoning for White
Ryan Day is hoping to make it a black night for Jimmy White when they clash in the Welsh Open at Newport.
The Bridgend potter has proved he can handle the pressure against the big names after victory over Steve Davis in the tournament last season and a 5-1 success against John Parrott in the first round of this year’s event.
And Day is relishing a duel with another snooker veteran, even if home support can’t be guaranteed against the game’s perennial crowd favourite.
“I’m really looking forward to it, although I’m not sure whose side the crowd will be on,” Day said.
“I was just a youngster playing in junior tournaments when Jimmy was getting to all those world finals and he was a big favourite of mine.
“I’m experienced enough to know that it’s all about yourself. No matter who you’re playing you can’t afford to worry about them. It’s just about your own game.”
Day finished 33rd in the world rankings last season, one place off being excused having to pre-qualify for most major events.
The 25-year-old reached his first ranking event quarter-final at Newport last year and proved he is back in top form as he contributed breaks of 122 and 113 in defeating Parrott.
The first major shock of the tournament came courtesy of Ian McCulloch, who beat defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-1 yesterday.
O’Sullivan wore a strap on his right wrist and told McCulloch he had fractured it while boxing in the gym.
The world number one refused to confirm this afterwards but was clearly struggling as McCulloch produced a top-drawer performance to beat him for the first time in a ranking event.
The shocks continued when Stephen Hendry joined O’Sullivan on the casualty list after suffering a 5-3 defeat to Barry Hawkins, who impressed in Newport last year by reaching the semi-finals.
And Steve Davis was another top seed to lose when the 48-year-old snooker legend went down 5-4 to Stoke’s Jamie Cope, some 28 years his junior and appearing in front of the television cameras for the first time.
Paul Hunter, who has just completed his latest course of cancer treatment, suffered further disappointment when he was beaten 5-3 by Anthony Hamilton.
Hunter has only won one match all season and seems certain to lose his place in the elite top 16 unless he produces the goods at next month’s 888.com World Championship.
Shaun Murphy, the defending champion at the Crucible, failed to impress despite beating Andy Hicks 5-3.
Murphy, beaten in a deciding frame in all three of this season’s ranking events, grew anxious as the winning line approached but finally scrapped to victory after Hicks missed a difficult last red in the eighth frame.
Peter Ebdon, the 2002 world champion, was well below par in losing 5-0 to Belfast’s Joe Swail.
