Aussie potter Neil Robertson wows Kelvin Hall crowd to snatch Glasgow Grand Prix title

Oct 15 2009

Neil Robertson

AUSSIE cue-maestro Neil Robertson dazzled the Kelvin Hall last week to clinch snooker's Grand Prix title.

Robertson was in majestic form at the west end venue as he swept aside China's Ding Junhui 9-4 thanks to a dominant second session where he took five out of the six frames played.

The day before, he stunned the Glasgow crowd by knocking out local boy and reigning World Champion John Higgins on a final frame black ball.

The victory is Robertson's second Grand Prix title - the first coming in 2006 - and takes him to number three in the world provisional rankings.

The Australian said: "I'm over the moon - it's an incredible feeling.

"I can't believe I've won.

"The way I played in the semifinal against John Higgins was probably the best snooker I've ever produced.

"But although I didn't play as well in the final, I just wanted to make it tough for Ding because he is such a top player."

The ninth frame was ultimately the final's turning point. With the scores locked at 4-4, Robertson clinched a 57-minute safety battle to take advantage of an error by Ding to go 5-4 up.

He added: "It was a massive frame to go 5-4 ahead and I muscled back the initiative.

"It was a big relief to get over the winnning line.

"There's only John and Ronnie O'Sullivan ahead of me in the rankings so I've still got a bit of work to do t o catch up with them.

"But I'm looking forward to the challenge. I've proven that I can compete with the best players in the world."

Meanwhile Milton potter Stephen Maguire blamed his shoulder injury for his loss to Ding in the last 16.

He said: "I wasn't expecting any miracles after injuring myself.

My shoulder didn't hamper me playing but it did for my preparation for the tournament. "Having four days off practice is not me."