Swail - fine comeback (Getty Images).
SWAIL RALLY SLOWS DRAGO
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Joe Swail and Tony Drago were a breath of fresh air to the Crucible on Tuesday afternoon after the slumber inducing match between Alan McManus and Nigel Bond.
Ulsterman Swail and Maltese star Drago raced through their opening nine frames
session in only two hours 19 minutes.
Welsh referee Eirian Williams had problems keeping pace in the early stages as
Drago sprinted into a 4-0 lead.
The 37-year-old Valletta cueman took only 48 minutes to claim the opening four
frames with runs of 44, 76, 74 and 39.
His average shot time was a blistering 11 seconds compared to Scotland's Chris
Small who was timed at 31 seconds in his first round game against Matthew
Stevens.
Swail, a semi-finalist twice in the last three years, was ripe for an upset
after a poor season.
He has dropped from 16th to 24th in the rankings and only salvaged some
confidence by reaching the quarter-finals of the Scottish Open.
But the Crucible clearly brings the best out of him and the former English
Amateur champion from Belfast rallied to trail only 5-4 at close of play.
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