SHEFFIELD, England, 20 April 2005 — Jimmy White overcame the twin effects of flu and a Fergal O’Brien recovery to advance into the second round of the World Championship with a 10-5 win at the Crucible Theater here yesterday.
White, six-time a losing finalist, began with an 8-1 overnight lead but the English left-hander, nicknamed the ‘Whirlwind’ on account of his aggressive style of play, said he had been flattered by his first day advantage and added he’d been hampered by illness.
“I had been taking tablets for the flu until yesterday and then stopped, and it has come back a bit today. It makes you feel a bit fuzzy,” said the world No. 11, who will face Wales’ Matthew Stevens on Saturday.
“But as well as that, Fergal played much better today. I couldn’t have expected to have been 8-1 up against anyone the way the game is these days and I nicked a couple of close frames so 6-3 would have been fairer.
With the final taking place on White’s 43rd birthday, there would be few more popular sights than the Londoner lifting the coveted World Championship trophy at last.
On the other table, England’s Ali Carter raced into a 7-2 lead against Hong Kong hero Marco Fu, the 16th seed.
