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Jimmy White can enjoy more wins on the main snooker circuit if he adopts a less “serious” approach, according to seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry.
White booked his trip to the Wuhan Open after completing a 5-3 win over Dominic Dale last month, while the six-time world finalist narrowly failed to overcome 2023 Crucible semi-finalist Si Jiahui in a 5-4 qualifying defeat in the Xi’an Open first round.
Hendry – who famously denied White four times in Crucible finals in 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1994 – feels the 62-year-old Tooting icon would benefit from learning to enjoy the experience and lowering expectations.
“I’ve got no end of admiration for Jimmy to keep going out there,” said Hendry on the Snooker Club podcast. “To keep putting himself out there, to keep practising because he’s losing far more matches than he’s winning.
“And to keep having the appetite, to keep putting the suit back on and to keep practising, all of that..he clearly loves the game.
“He is going to lose more matches than he wins, but for him to qualify for the event, just proves that on his day, he is capable of beating a lot of players.
“There’s not quite enough of that these days. I wish Jimmy would chill out about it, and maybe not take it quite so serious. Treat it almost like a laugh, like a day out.
“When I watch Jimmy, and I’ve had that as well, every shot is like a pint of blood, but if he could find a way of enjoying it, he might have more results.”
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White, who remarkably turned professional in 1980, has claimed 10 ranking titles and his 325 competitive centuries is 25th in the all-time list, only 13 behind old 1980s rival Steve Davis.
“It is great to see this win for him. He’s out in China doing the exhibition circuit, and he just loves the game. At the age of 62, to want to practise and still go to these venues. There is nobody there.
“Jimmy has played at the biggest venues in the world, the [Wembley] Conference Centre, Hong Kong with 3,500 people, the Crucible. He clearly loves the game.”
