White needs a win

Jimmy White will head to Sheffield next month needing to win at least one match in the 88.com World Championship to keep his place in the world’s top 32 after suffering a 5-3 defeat to Joe Swail in the China Open.

White flew to Beijing 29th in the provisional rankings having failed to win a match in five months and will fall further following another disappointing display.

There were signs his fortunes had turned around when he opened a 3-0 lead over Swail but the Belfast man fought back to deny White his first victory of 2006.

“I’m really struggling with confidence,” White admitted. “I’m putting in the work but not producing anything under pressure.

“I’ll just have to work harder for the World Championship and not have a day off from practising to get myself together.

“In the balls I’m just not very confident for some strange reason.”

White faces his regular practice partner David Gray in the first round at The Crucible where defeat would see him drop out of the top 32, consigning the 43-year-old Londoner to life in the qualifying school at Prestatyn.

He started the current campaign eighth but has only won two matches in six tournaments.

Swail, meanwhile, is closing in on a return to the top 32 after dropping out last season, but was still sympathetic to White’s plight.

“I feel for Jimmy,” he said. “It isn’t easy for him and he’s under a lot of pressure. It’s very sad but he’s come up against players in form.

“He’s too good a player not to get back into it at some point.”

White established his 3-0 lead without having to produce much in the way of form before Swail raised his game, compiling breaks of 58, 81 and 67 to motor through.

It was only his second victory over White in nine meetings and his first since the 1995 Thailand Classic.

“The first three or four frames were very poor and I couldn’t get into the match because I only had two hours' sleep,” he said.

“My body clock is all messed up so to turn it around was a big achievement.”

Swail now faces Derby’s David Roe, who reached the last 16 of a ranking tournament for the first time in 10 years with a 5-4 victory over Paul Hunter, who therefore lost his fifth successive match of the season.

Hunter travelled to Beijing despite his continuing ill health. The world number five was diagnosed with cancer shortly before last year’s China event and has spent much of the year undergoing treatment and unable to practice properly.

“I knew Paul was ill but I didn’t realise how much pain he was in,” Roe said. “You could see when he had to get on the table that it was hurting him.

“I can’t even imagine what it must be like for him. You feel awful playing him and his condition puts snooker into perspective.

“I can’t fault him for his strength in coming here. He’s really brave to come and play and he can still knock in some good balls, but his illness has obviously taken a percentage off his game.”

Roe’s previous appearance in a last 16 was at the 1996 Thailand Open. Once a member of the top 16, a few lean seasons have seen the 40-year-old drop to 61st in the rankings.

“I’ve played well at the qualifiers but when I’ve got through to venues I’ve just collapsed,” he said.

“When you don’t appear on TV that often it’s hard to get used to it again, so I’m delighted to be doing well here.”