IT HAD been clear long before the start of this season that Jimmy White's hair wasn't the only thing that was deserting him.
For several years it had been apparent that the hunger for success of a man, who had won 15 major professional titles between 1981 and 1992, was no longer sufficient to maintain his position as one of the sport's best.
In the opening match of this year's Benson and Hedges Irish Masters at Goffs yesterday, though, both the appetite and, a little more strangely, the hair had returned with a vengeance as the 34-year-old Londoner overran Alan McManus 6-3 in their best of 11-frame match.
Just a couple of months ago White's slide down the rankings went into freefall as he exited the first four ranking tournaments of the season without winning a match. His hopes for a third Irish title had been boosted considerably since the New Year, however, with some stronger showings, particularly at the International Open where he lost to Stephen Hendry in the quarter-finals.
Asked what had changed Since January, White joked yesterday that he had "started to practise again" but went on to admit that: A few things (the deaths, within a few months, of his mother and brother) happened in my personal life that made me think that snooker didn't matter to me anymore."
White's appearance brought a healthy crowd to the tournament's first session and he rewarded his ever loyal fans with a display very reminiscent of his best days. McManus, each time he was foolish enough to leave his opponent with a shot, was promptly punished. White repeatedly salvaged breaks by producing scorching long pots that left those in the front row looking distinctly uncomfortable.
Not, it has to be said, as uncomfortable as his Scottish opponent. As White produced early breaks of 63, 78 and 67 to take a 3-0 lead, McManus managed to pot just six balls while he missed the target entirely on five occasions. He did better early on in the fourth when, with the black unavailable, he built a break of 45. But on his next two visits to the table White produced a 40 and 34 to leave for the interval 4-0
Things weren't quite so one-sided when the players returned to the table with McManus finally exposing the odd crack in his opponent's game and picking up three of the next four frames with a combination of better safety and solid potting.
In the ninth, however, when he had the chance to draw a little closer to level terms, though, he fluffed an attempted snooker on the yellow and let White in to wrap up the match.
White now faces Hendry, to whom he has lost twice since Christmas, while the day's other winner, Ronnie O'Sullivan, will take on world number two John Higgins tomorrow afternoon in the first of the quarter-finals after the Iondoner beat Nigel Bond 6-5 in yesterday's evening session.
Bond completed his 22-hour journey back from the Thailand Open, where he was a beaten finalist, around noon yesterday and consequently should have been vulnerable to a repeat of the 6-1 defeat he endured at the hands of Sullivan at the German Open in December.
If his strong start seemed to confirm the expectation that the Londoner would have it easy, Bond started to defy the jetlag and make his mark after the interval, playing a clever game to level at four frames each after trailing 3-1 at the break.
In frame nine the previous frantic pace of the match slowed as O'Sullivan was forced into a more patient tussle. But he regained the upper hand with a wildly flukey red followed shortly afterwards by a 31-point clearance to the pink when his opponent had been forced into an error with the colours well spread out
Once again Bond battled back with a neat 34 break to take the 10th by 61 points to 28 but late in the decider an attempted snooker went wrong after which he failed to make contact with the last red and conceded.
