John Higgins takes on Mei Xi Wen in the second round of the China Championship but Richard Mann doesn't think it will be plain sailing for the five-times world champion.
Like Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams, John Higgins continues to defy father time and starts another season in professional snooker ranked at number four in the world and still regarded as one of the giants of the game.
Higgins enjoyed another fine campaign last term, winning a record fifth Welsh Open and making the final of the World Championships, before losing out to Mark Williams in a wonderful climax to the Sheffield showpiece.
The Scot seems intent on steadily working his way into this year and missed a couple of the early tournaments on the calendar before reaching the last 16 of the Shangai Masters recently, eventually losing out to Ryan Day 6-5.
Higgins looked to have his game in decent working order in that clash, compiling breaks of 61, 71 and 136, but he was understandably still some way short of his very best form and might need a few more matches to sharpen up his game.
With that in mind, his second round opponent in China - Mei Xi Wen - could give him a good workout as he looks to groove his game ahead of bigger battles ahead.
Wen wouldn't be a household name but he has enjoyed some fine results so far this season, most notably when beating Shaun Murphy in the World Open, before going on to make the last 32 there.
Anthony Hamilton eventually brought his run to an end in that tournament but Wen has continued that form with victories over Li Hang and Michael White here and he has proven particularly adept at winning scrappy frames, something he will need against a player of Higgins' tactical nous.
With Higgins as short a 1/7 to progress, Wen looks worth a little play on the handicap (+2.5) at 11/10 in a match between a great of the game who could be short of peak form and a young pretender who is sure to be hungry and full of confidence following some promising recent results.
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