Neil Robertson admits that his bad results so far this season have come as a shock, but he has retained the belief in his game and has got an old friend on board to help turn things around.
It has been a remarkably poor campaign for the world number six so far, not winning more than one match in any ranking event before he begins his campaign at the UK Championship this week.
For a player who has been incredibly consistent for years, winning at least one tournament every year all the way back to 2006, this is a rare downturn which has taken everyone by surprise, including the man himself.
‘Maybe sometimes in some opening rounds you’re not on full alert, but from now for the rest of the season I’m going to be on full alert and ready,’ Robertson told Metro.co.uk.
‘It’s been a shock, the results have been bad, no doubt about it. The performances have not been terrible, but I need to raise my level because other players are raising theirs and I need to expect that and be ready for it.’
There is certainly no panic from the Australian, who begins his UK Championship campaign against Zhou Yuelong on Tuesday, never short of self belief even when wins have been hard to come by.
‘The belief absolutely doesn’t go,’ he said. ‘If I was playing bad in practice, having technical issues, cueing badly then confidence could hit the floor but I think just a couple of matches can turn things around in terms of momentum.
‘Belief and confidence won’t waver but I could do with winning a couple of matches to build momentum because winning obviously feels good.’
Robertson is also keeping the defeats in perspective, having been in this position before when his wife was struggling with mental health problems, and looking more widely at what is going on around the world.
‘I’ve been through spells like this before when Mille was really having a hard time with her anxiety and depression six years ago,’ he said. ‘I had a lean spell then, dropped out of the top 16 for the Masters, so I know what the worst feels like, if that’s what you can call the worst and it’s not so bad.
‘When I dropped out of the 16 and missed the Masters it was almost a relief because I found out what it feels like and it’s not that bad. I won the Scottish [Open] a week later or something. It’s difficult to be in the top four in the world for 15 years in a row without dipping in and out.
‘It’s not so bad when you look around the world and what’s happening at the moment, it’s hard to feel sorry for yourself when there are hospitals being bombed. Winning or losing a few snooker matches is not the end of the world. It’s easy to be positive when you look at it like that.’
The Thunder from Down Under also looks back on some advice he was given 15 years ago by a friend of the late Paul Hunter, which helps him stay positive.
He explained: ‘In the 2008 World Championship I was 8-0 down to Stephen Maguire and I spoke to one of Paul Hunter’s best friends, complaining about it, saying “bloody hell, 8-0 down, stuff this, stuff that” and he said, “I know mate, but there’s one person who would love to be 8-0 down in the World Championships right now.”
‘Ever since that, I’ve always thought about who would love to be in my position right now and I stop complaining.’
That is not to say Robertson is accepting these results, though, and he is doing his best to turn things round, including signing up his old pal and practice partner Joe Perry to a new mentoring role.
The Gentleman and the Thunder go back a long way and the Aussie is hoping his presence with him on tour can be a big boost.
‘I’m working really hard, practicing well and improving,’ he said. ‘I’ve added some stuff to my game that I didn’t think was possible so I’m very excited and hopefully that can come to fruition in the UK.
‘Working with Joe Perry as well this season. I worked with Chris Henry at the start of the season but not anymore. Me and Joe have talked about working together for years so that’s going to be really good.
‘Sort of like a companion on tour which I don’t really have. No one will ever coach me technically, any coach would be foolish to try and do that, but in a mentor role and having someone around.
‘I’ve never really had that before, someone giving you advice mid-match. To have someone there who knows what they’re talking about should be really beneficial on a full-time basis.’
This week’s UK Championship is Robertson’s last chance to keep up his epic trophy-winning run dating back to 2006 as he is heading back to Australia after York for the first time since before the pandemic and the first time he has been to his homeland with his wife and both kids.
Robertson hopes that seeing his family and recharging the batteries at home will also give him a boost in the second half of the season, and if his run of titles ends this week, so be it.
‘The Scottish Open was the last tournament I had to keep it going six years ago and I did it, so I’ve been close to losing it before,’ he said. ‘It’s been amazing to keep it going but it has to end at some point. If it ends this year then it’s been one of the most remarkable records we’ve got in the sport, I’m very proud of it.
‘But I won’t be making any changes to my flight to play in the Scottish or the Shoot Out or anything. The UK is the last hurrah.’
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