SNOOKER: DOMINIC Dale couldn’t help but feel a victim of a Jimmy White display of old after missing out in a Dafabet Northern Ireland Open thriller.
The Coventry cueman faced off more than 23 years after his last meeting with the former World No.2 – and the Whirlwind rolled back the years to claim a 4-3 victory in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.
Dale didn’t make White’s win the easiest of tasks. Breaks of 134 and 88 helped him come from behind on three occasions before White hit 53 in the final frame to take the win.
The Coventry cueman was far from dejected come the final pot, instead he was somewhat relieved to have a rest having suffered jetlag on his return from China.
He said: “Jimmy played a solid match and that’s not something he has always done.
“I was hitting the ball well, we saw that in two big breaks but with so many tournaments I wasn’t able to practice between this one and China because I was so tired.
“You hope that the practice you’ve done is still there and I don’t think I missed a massive amount.
“But when you play Jimmy, there’s a presence there.
“He’s not the same player he was, but he knows everything about his game and how to manage himself around the table.
Dale’s focus now quickly turns to next week’s UK Championships, with a place beyond the third round for the first time in his career one of the first focuses.
But this year will see the 45-year-old have a rather different preparation than most.
He said: “I’ve been doing some work with the weights in the gym – and now I feel better at 45 than I did at 25.
“I used to do martial arts in my late teens and I wanted to get back fit, I needed the guidance of a personal trainer and that’s got me working on some key areas.
“I’m so fit now, I’m not doing a massive amount of cardio but I feel great and that’s the most important thing, it’s actually making a big difference in the way I feel.”
The Northern Ireland Open is being broadcast on Eurosport, Eurosport Player, and Quest.
