Ronnie O'Sullivan's 10-5 opening-day defeat of Drew Henry in the Embassy World Championship showed this mercurial genius to be hugely motivated and focused for his title defence.
For the first few frames he "wasn't that interested" but, as if a light had been switched on within him, he then assembled a very impressive six-frame winning streak from 3-3 to 9-3.
His highest breaks were 94 and 91, but it was his 56 clearance to win the 10th frame on the black which was both the highlight of the match and the cruellest thrust for Henry, one of six Scots in the 32-man draw.
Coming to the table with three of the four remaining reds, pink and black all apparently safe, O'Sullivan disposed of them all, holding his run together by memorably rolling a black nine feet down a side cushion to a baulk pocket, "a 20-1 shot" as his opponent admiringly described it.
"I'm not too bothered but I really want to be bothered," said O'Sullivan, whose performances in the past few months have tended to reflect his depressed, almost uncaring mood. Now, perhaps, he has turned the corner.
Graeme Dott, runner-up in the British Open and semi-finalist in the Welsh Open, came to the Crucible not only on a five-match losing streak but also upset from learning on the eve of the championship that the wife of his manager Alex Lambie has been diagnosed with cancer. Their daughter, Dott's girlfriend, was "in bits", he said.
Dott nevertheless profited from the Crucible debut nerves of Robin Hull, Finland's top player, to win 10-6. It was later revealed that Mrs Lambie had died hours before Dott's game, the news kept from him until he had secured victory. No decision on his continued participation has been disclosed.
He had much to be proud of after fighting off a late comeback from Hull. "At 9-3 Robin started to play a bit so I was glad to get over the line," Dott said, referring to the closing phase of the match in which the Finn made breaks of 81 and 70 in closing to 9-6 before Dott's run of 67 ended the match.
David Gray, the world No30, showed an adverse reaction from his inspired, if draining, journey to the Regal Scottish Open final this month which included wins over John Higgins, Mark King, Steven Hendry and Peter Ebdon.
He went out 10-5 to King, who thereby reached the last 16 for the fourth time. "Maybe I was drained after Aberdeen," Gray admitted. "I had hundreds of chances. I missed so many balls it was unbelievable."
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