Ding Junhui is relishing the prospect of taking on a childhood idol in the second round of the UK Snooker Championship after a fine first outing in York.
The Sheffield-based potter eased past amateur John Sutton 6-0 at York Barbican yesterday afternoon to set up a showdown with Jimmy White. And, after navigating a potential banana skin in Sutton, the world No.3 will enjoy a short break back in Sheffield ahead of the weekend’s second round.
“I watched a lot of Jimmy White when I was a little boy,” he said.
“I can’t remember the last time I played him but I have a lot of fans here and I saw that when I was playing.
“I’m just looking forward to playing against Jimmy now. It was my first match in the UK and I didn’t play really well – I just played like normal.
“You have to be careful in the first round. I was knocked out of the Wuxi and Chengdu so I know what that is like. I had also never played John Sutton before so I had to be very careful.”
Meanwhile, Ian Glover slipped to a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the impressive Xiao Guodong but he wouldn’t let the result spoil his maiden appearance at the UK Championship – one of snooker’s ‘triple crown’ events.
“This was my first time at the UK Championship and it’s absolutely fantastic,” said the 36-year-old.
“There’s a great atmosphere in the arena and it has just made me want to come back next year, although I’ve got to improve.”
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