DEREK RYAN has an opportunity to strengthen his position on the world ladder this afternoon when he opens up his 1996-97 campaign at the Singapore Open.
The 531,000 in prize-money available has not proven enough to lure the cream of the sport's talent to the Far East at such an early stage so the Dubliner, currently ranked 15 in the world is seeded two for the title.
Having done particularly well in the build up to Christmas last year, a strong showing this week would take a great deal of pressure off Ryan, who must pick up a considerable number of ranking points before the end of December if he is to retain his current ranking. But the 26-year-old is confident that, after a good summer's training, he can take another step towards the top-10.
"There's not a lot of money but there are a lot of points up for grabs this week, so Singapore could really set me up for the season, said the Irish champion prior to departing from his English base.
"I've trained really hard again and I have absolutely no doubts about my strength or fitness. All of my practise matches have gone well and now I'm just very keen to get out there and play for real again," he added.
Ryan faces England's Mark Cairns in the opening round with, if everything goes to plan, Paul Steel of New Zealand and Scottish international Martin Heath barring his path to the semifinals.
Seeded above him in the draw, meanwhile, is Zarak Jahan Khan over whom he has scored a hat-trick of victories in their most recent meetings. Having trained extensively with world number one Jansher Khan over the past year, the world number 10 from Pakistan, will present a stern test if the pair do come through to face each other.
"It should be good out there, although the heat will be a factor. Every match will be tough and whoever ends up running more will be in deep trouble. If I play like I know I'm able to, though, I should be alright and it would be nice to come up against Zarak in the final."
After the tournament, Ryan faces a 10-day wait before moving on to Hong Kong where the first Super Series event of the season gets under way. With twice as much prize-money on offer as there is in Singapore, there will be considerably tougher competition on hand. All the world's leading player's return to action there after the summer lay-off but, as long as he can avoid the misfortune of another first round clash with Jansher Khan, it will give. Ryan a valuable opportunity to gauge just how well he is playing before the start of a hectic autumn and winter schedule, which includes major tournaments in Egypt, Qatar, Germany and Pakistan.
