Neil Robertson 'wasn't looking forward to snooker matches' and opens up on rankings drop

Former snooker world champion Neil Robertson has spoken candidly about his return to form after admitting he resented the prospect of playing matches last season. After a dismal 2023/24 campaign, the 42-year-old reached the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters this month and has continued that momentum into the English Open.

On Wednesday, the Australian convincingly beat Shaun Murphy 4-1 to set up a last-16 tie against Ross Muir at the Brentwood Leisure Centre.

And following his latest win, Robertson claimed his mindset had changed after failing to qualify for the world championships last May for the first time since 2004.

“Last year, I wasn’t in the best place for a few different reasons,” he said. “It didn’t really allow me to confront the issue head on with my form. I think I talked a good game and tried to be as positive as I could.

“I worked really hard last year, but I wasn’t really looking forward to the matches, the tournaments, the travelling. This year is a completely different mindset where I can’t wait to play. When you’re in that mode, when you get out there and you’re in the zone, you don’t really care what your ranking is.”

The former world No.1 is now ranked 26th overall, having dropped out of the top-16 last year for the first time since 2017. But he added his primary focus now was on winning matches and not on improving his world status.

“You’re just looking forward to playing matches,” he said. “I’m fully aware of where I’m ranked, but there’s nothing I can do about that now. I just need to keep playing matches and see where it leads up. That’s the main thing, I’m enjoying the game again.”

Robertson reached the semi-final stage at the World Open last season, but that was their only time he went beyond the last-16 at a rankings tournament. And he attributed his recent turnaround to his prominent safety play, which seemingly deserted him on his barren run.

“I think last year I was probably getting picked off a lot in matches, where I was playing thick safeties and sending reds over the hole,” he continued. “Maybe I was going for some long ones that I shouldn’t have been. I was trying to force perfect snooker.”

The 42-year-old is due to get underway against Muir at around 7pm on Thursday night. His solitary triumph at the English Open came in 2021, beating John Higgins 9-8 in a thrilling final.

His last tournament win came the following year at the Tour Championship in Llandudno, again edging out the Scotsman. However, the 2010 world champion has not played in an event final since.