A Player dropped in the standings before the UK Championship, but he didn’t lose confidence

A player dropped in the standings before the UK Championship, but he didn’t lose confidence.

Neil Robertson isn’t worried about falling out of the world’s top 16 as he looks to win a fourth UK Snooker Championship title in York, hoping to salvage a difficult campaign.

The 41-year-old Australian is entering the second-biggest tournament in the sport, which gets underway at the city’s Barbican Centre on Saturday. This season, he has only made it to the final 64 in six of his ranking events.

Robertson has been open about his experience with homesickness in recent months. He will take a brief break from the game when he returns home next month to celebrate the holidays with his family for the first time since before his only world title victory in 2010.

For a player of Robertson’s caliber, it would be unimaginable to drop out of the elite in the sport, but he is optimistic about his chances of improving this season before making his way back to one of his most lucrative locations.

Robertson stated: “I don’t really mind because I’ve gone through similar situations a few times previously.

“I’ve had trouble getting into some games, and my opponents have been really strong and have punished me for a few slip-ups. Not too many shocking performances have I delivered. It’s a natural element of athletics, and you experience it occasionally.

I’ve struggled to get up for some matches and my opponents have been on a roll and punished me for a few mistakes. I haven’t put in too many shocker performances. It’s just part of sport and you go through it now and again.

“I dropped out of the top 16 briefly before (in 2017), then I won the Scottish Open and went on to have quite a dominant spell for the next two years.

“When I dropped out, I remember it actually being a bit of a relief because you feel like you’ve experienced the worst of it. It wouldn’t bother me at all if I had to qualify for the Crucible, it’s not really in my thinking.”

Robertson had cut a forlorn figure when he lost to Jak Jones in the second round of this year’s World Championship, a defeat that stretched his winless streak at the Crucible to 13 years and shortly afterwards he realised it was time to take drastic action.

When my AFL side, Collingwood, won the Grand Final and my entire family was watching it together back home, along with close friends I hadn’t really seen in the previous twenty or so years, that’s when it really hit me, Robertson continued.

“That day, while Facetiming my family back home, I noticed that my nephews, who I hadn’t seen much of, were having a barbecue. It made me realize that I had been missing out on those moments for the past 20 years. It was incredibly difficult for me.

Before making his long-overdue trip back home, Robertson takes on Zhou Yuelong in the opening round on Tuesday in an attempt to become just the fourth player to win four or more UK titles. Robertson defeated Yuelong in the semi-finals of his last victory three years ago.

The event begins on Saturday with the defending champion Mark Allen taking on Ding Junhui in a rematch of last year’s final. On Tuesday, Ronnie O’Sullivan, who is looking for a record eighth title, also takes on McGill.

Robertson thinks the move back to a stand-alone final 32 event is a positive step for the esteemed tournament’s history and will inspire the finest players to perform at their highest level on tournament day.

Everyone looks forward to this tournament,” Robertson continued.

“It’s got a great history, it gets great coverage and it all adds up to the type of tournament that when you’re used to playing at the top of the game, you really want to win.