World Snooker Championship Betting / Editor / 17 April 2008 / 3 Comments

It's the highlight of the snooker calendar again when the 888.com snooker World Championships start in Sheffield this weekend. Betfair interrupted the practice of world number seven and last season's Player of the Year Neil Robertson to get some exclusive insight into what we can expect.

Neil, thanks for talking to us and how is your practice going?

My preparation has been really good. It was for China, too, I practised every day for that, but unfortunately lost to Mark Allen who played really well against me. After that I had a couple of days off to get over the jet lag, and then I have been working every day since. I'm playing really well in practice which is a good sign. I'm doing everything right leading up to this tournament so hopefully I can play really well

What sort of amounts of time do you have to spend at the table every day?

If I'm working with somebody it's maybe five or six hours a day, but on my own probably less. You don't want to wear yourself out too much right before a big tournament. The aim is to do a lot three or four weeks before, and then take your foot off the gas in the last week. The matches are very long and tiring so it's important to stay fresh.

Is that the biggest difference between the Crucible and other tournaments, that it is as much a physical as a snooker test?

Definitely. I think a lot of the players have the ability and talent to win, but it is the mental strength that makes the difference. Obviously I haven't won it before, but I know experiencing reaching the quarter-finals a couple of years ago when I lost to Graeme Dott 13-12 it really takes it out of you. In between sessions you are just resting and trying to get an hour or two's sleep. It's very tiring because you have to maintain so much concentration throughout a whole session, and sometimes you are playing two sessions a day.

Tell us how you got into snooker?

My dad was a part owner in a snooker room at home in Australia. When I was about 11 or 12 my parents were going through a divorce so I just used to spend the weekends with my dad, and he had to spend a lot of time there. It meant I ended up playing snooker all day on Saturday and Sunday because there wasn't a lot else to do

How long did it take before you realised you were good at it then?

Not too long. I think without trying too hard I started beating a lot of the juniors that had been playing for years, and then gradually got into it more and more and started entering tournaments. It was just through dominating the junior circuit that I realised I could be good at it.

It doesn't really fit with the Australian outdoor macho image?

Yeah, you're right. Compared to outdoor sports back home it's very much a minority game. It's all about cricket, Aussie Rules, Rugby, tennis and golf - the list goes on and on. It's definitely not mainstream, but snooker is getting more and more popular. It's not yet one of those things that everybody watches on TV though. The coverage isn't live, for a start. Even the World Championships tend to be broadcast over there on pay TV two months after the tournament finishes!

Were you good at outdoor sports too?

Yeah, pretty good at cricket and basketball, and I used to play Aussie rules at school, but snooker became the number one for me and the one I enjoyed the most. It was a wise decision, I suppose.

You thought last year's draw at the Crucible was pretty lousy for you. How about this time?

It's different this year - I guess more straightforward in terms of who I might play. I can look at it and have a pretty good idea who I will play if I get through a couple of rounds. That's not to show any disrespect to Nigel Bond who I meet in the first round. He's obviously a very experienced player and it will be very tough, but the last 16 against Stephen Maguire will be a big potential test. He's beaten me a couple of times already, and is obviously in great form winning China and making a maximum, so that will be very tough but one I will enjoy the challenge of.

You're seven in the rankings at the moment, how big is the step to being one or two?

I've not had a great year at all, but I started provisionally four and I wasn't far behind number one. I was only one match away at one point in the first tournament. I was in a great position to establish myself in the top four but it hasn't happened. I've had a pretty disappointing season for various reasons, but I think probably the biggest leap is consistency. If you look at someone like Shaun Murphy, I think the last five ranking tournaments he's made semi-finals every time, so you have to be always in that bracket. It's like in tennis. Federer and Nadal are always in the semi-final and final of every Grand Slam. That's the sort of level of consistency you have to find. You can't afford to lose opening rounds and that's what I've done this year, I've lost three opening round matches and dropped a lot of points.

Have you come up with a theory why?

Plenty! I think the first four or five tournaments I had a different theory for every one. In the end I think it was down to a few off the table issues. I had a change of management and a few personal issues. I think I've learned a lot of lessons on what definitely not to do.

It's a sport with small margins of error, isn't it?

Yeah, it's not like I've gone: 'I can't be bothered practising', it's nothing like that at all. I guess it's important to surround yourself with the right people which I probably didn't do. I think when you are a professional sportsman you do have to make some sort of sacrifices in life in terms of socialising and things like that. If your friends want to go out to a club and maybe have a few drinks it's pretty important to be able to say: 'Look sorry guys I can't.' Not that I was doing that a lot, but there are certain things you can't do. People like Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby are very good at that, in particular Murphy seems very, very professional. I've learned a lot. Since Christmas I've done all the right things, in fact probably worked too much on my own. Come next season I think I'll be much better prepared - in fact this season isn't over and I've done everything right leading up to the world championships so hopefully I can still turn things round

Who are the dangers?

The favourites will be Ronnie O'Sullivan, Murphy, Maguire and Selby. I think Ronnie is still the best player in the world. When he's on top form he's the best so he'll start this year, like every year, as the player to beat

Do you fancy your own chances?

I do actually. I'm actually a better player than I was this time last year, even though I haven't been getting the results to prove it. If I play well I can beat anybody. I proved that last year by beating Ronnie twice. I've just got to go and prove it again.

As a thanks for your time we've a £50 bet for your favourite charity.

Great, the winnings can go to the Paul Hunter foundation for obvious reasons - you can learn more on www.paulhunterfoundation.org He was a great man and player. As for the bet the safest thing would be to back Manchester United to win everything but I'm a Chelsea supporter so I can't bring myself to do that! It looks like the League title has gone now, but I will back Chelsea to win the Champions League at [4.5].

Comments (3)

1. Yelena | 23 November 2008

   Neil Robertson is a great player. I love him...

2. kat | 01 January 2009

   great player and great looking guy!!
   i love him so much

3. Moon | 12 April 2009

   Adore you!
   you are the best!

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