Australian Billiards & Snooker Council

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Whirlwind Next For Storming Robertson
18 Jan 2005

** This report is from the World Snooker website.

Neil Robertson cruised to a 5-0 win over Robert Milkins as the Welsh Open got underway today (Monday) and the young Aussie star believes he could be a “real threat” in the World Ranking event.

The 22-year-old from Melbourne has climbed rapidly up the rankings in the past two seasons and could be set for a place in the official top 32. His best performance so far was a quarter-final berth in last year’s European Open but he now hopes to go further.

“If I can produce my current form on a consistent basis I could be a real threat,” said the Cambridge-based player. “Darren Morgan said to me earlier in the season that he thought I was capable of winning a tournament and that was a real confidence boost.

“My main target is to get into the top 32 but if I did go berzerk in a couple of tournaments there’s still a chance of the top 16. Stephen Maguire winning the European Open and (Travis Perkins) UK Championship has set a great example to the young players coming through.”

Robertson, who won 17 consecutive qualifying matches this season before losing to Tony Drago last week, opened today with a break of 64 then added runs of 100 and 69 to go 3-0 up. He won a scrappy fourth frame and added a 51 in the next to complete the whitewash.

The former world under-21 champion now faces Jimmy White in the last 32 at the Newport Centre tomorrow night. “I’m delighted to be playing Jimmy, he was my hero when I first stared watching snooker,” added Robertson.

“The amount I have improved over the last 18 months has been unbelievable. It’s mainly down to the fact that I’m based in the UK now and practising regularly with top players like Joe Perry.”