• China Open

White keeps bid to retain tour card on track

Jimmy White: "I don't want to drop off the tour and play golf yet" © Getty Images

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Jimmy White gave himself every chance of keeping his place in the world's top 64 - and with it his tour card for next season - with a 5-2 opening-round win over David Morris at the China Open.

White, currently ranked 61st, stormed into a 2-0 lead before Morris pulled level with breaks of 61 and 130, but the 51-year-old White won the next three frames to seal a place in the last 32.

"I played really well, it was a good match" White told WorldSnooker.com.

"I'm under pressure because of my age - some days I play well and some days not. I'm battling with my own game. David has had a great season and I knew it would be tough today. But I had to win because of my ranking situation. I don't want to drop off the tour and play golf yet."

Hawkins whitewashes Greene in Preston

Hawkins won his second ranking event following his 2012 Australian Open triumph © Getty Images

• Barry Hawkins cruised to the second ranking title of his professional career with a 4-0 victory over good friend Gerard Greene at the Players Championship Grand Final in Preston.
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World No.1 Neil Robertson held off the effects of a virus to edge Anthony Hamilton 5-4. Hamilton recovered from 4-2 down to pull level before the Australian won the decider with a run of 57.

Following the match, Robertson wrote on Twitter: "One of the greatest wins of my career. Possibly wouldn't have got on the plane had I known my virus was this bad."

Graeme Dott was also a 5-4 winner, having come back from 4-3 down to beat Rory McLeod, while

Englishman Jamie O'Neill reached the second round of a tournament for just the second time in his career thanks to a 5-3 victory over Kyren Wilson.

"I got a bit nervous at 4-0 up because it was a big match and a big jump in prize money," O'Neill said. "In the end I got the chance and finished it off.

"This is the furthest I have been in a tournament. It's just about confidence and getting used to winning. I've got my own tiling business and at the moment I'm working more than I practise. That has taken the pressure off because I don't need to win the matches for the money as much as I used to.

"I'll probably enter Q School this season and if I get back on I'll give it one more good go. I'm never going to be world number one but you can earn good money if you can win matches. And if any players want their bathrooms tiled they should give me a call!"

Ken Doherty, world champion in 1997, was thrashed 5-0 by Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, while Mark Joyce was also whitewashed, going down to James Wattana.

China Open day one results

Jack Lisowski (Eng) 3-5 Dominic Dale (Wal)
Xiao Guodong (Chn) 5-2 Hammad Miah (Eng)
Ken Doherty (Ire) 0-5 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Tha)
Mike Dunn (Eng) 5-4 Peter Lines (Eng)
James Wattana (Tha) 5-0 Mark Joyce (Eng)
Graeme Dott (Sco) 5-4 Rory McLeod (Eng)
Aditya Mehta (Ind) 4-5 Mark King (Eng)
David Morris (Ire) 2-5 Jimmy White (Eng)
Alfie Burden (Eng) w/o Tony Drago (Mal)
Neil Robertson (Aus) 5-4 Anthony Hamilton (Eng)
Dechawat Poomjaeng (Tha) 5-3 David Grace (Eng)
Kyren Wilson (Eng) 3-5 Jamie O'Neill (Eng)
Barry Pinches (Eng) 2-5 Nigel Bond (Eng)

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