‘Better than ever’ Robertson advances in UK Championship

Neil Robertson, the former world champion, believes that his excellent season has resulted in him playing “better than ever” after making it to the last 16 of the UK Championship.

The Australian won the tournament for the third time in his three years as a result of beating Belgian Julien Leclercq 6-2 on Sunday in the opening round of the competition.

Leclercq, 22, who is ranked 79th and required three victories to qualify for York, was 3-1 ahead when the 43-year-old broke the 105 barrier to the 22-year-old UK debutant.

Leclercq restored the lead to 3-3, but Robertson won the final three frames to advance comfortably.

Robertson, who dropped out of the top 20 in 2024 and failed to qualify for that year’s World Championship, his first time in 20 years, is making a remarkable recovery.

Robertson, who has held the position of world number one for five spells, “thought I had to do something when I didn’t qualify for the World Championship.” I looked up sports psychologists in the Cambridge area because I was practicing well but not getting any results.

It changed the way I felt about what I was doing and made me realize there were so many things I could be doing better.

Robertson credits Helen Davis with “completely transforming my life,” while former top-10 player Joe Perry has played a key role in his coaching setup, and she began working with her after she credits her with doing so.

Robertson remarked, “I can really trust the team’s voices,” adding that. Setting up the daily, weekly, and monthly structure is important because it allows you to enter all the tournaments prepared.

Why don’t enough snooker players create a team around themselves like other sports do? You can see that Novak Djokovic has won a tennis grand prix, and he thanked several members of his team for their efforts.

“This season has gone so brilliantly, and I just enjoyed it,” says I’m undoubtedly playing better than I ever have.

Robertson has won 26 ranking awards over the years, including the 2010 World Championship and the UK Championship in 2013, 2015, and 2020, as well as two non-ranking Masters titles.

But Alexander, his son, was faced with difficult questions at school, which gave him another reason to work hard for a higher position.

Robertson praised Alexander’s ability to have that experience with him. He has only ever known that I always won and win when I was a young child.

Then he experienced that moment when his classmates or teachers ask, “What’s wrong with your dad?,” and other similar things.