Neil Robertson says ‘there’s a lot of hunger there’ as he bids to bounce back from poor season

Neil Robertson has said he is hungry for success in the 2023/24 season, after struggling for form last term.

The Australian had a spectacular campaign in 2021/22, winning four tournaments including The Masters.

He was hotly tipped to dominate again last term, but never got going after making a late start to the campaign.

Robertson has conceded it was a mistake to take an extended break at the start of last season, and is determined not to make the same mistake again.

“I didn’t get off to the greatest of starts. I chose not to play in a few events and had a longer break. I felt I was playing catch up throughout the season.

“This year I am trying to start much earlier and hopefully that can pay off and I’ll hit the ground running.

“There’s a lot of hunger there. I didn’t get the success that I am used to last season. That only encourages me more to practice harder and get back to those winning ways.

“I look at that as an exciting challenge, not that I had a substandard season and get down on myself. I want to hit the ground running and have a good one.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan secured victory in the Champion of Champions and Hong Kong Masters last season, but he did not win a ranking event.

John Higgins also struggled in the previous campaign, and Robertson described it as “a freak year.”

Robertson said: “There were a lot of strange results going on.

“I think myself, Ronnie and John had spectacular seasons before that. John was in six finals, I won four of the biggest events and Ronnie won the World Championship.

“For me personally, I felt as if I needed a break going into last season and took too much time off. I was playing catch up and just didn’t quite convert the chances.”

Joe Perry is a practice partner for Robertson, and he said it would be a mistake to write off the likes of O’Sullivan, Higgins and Mark Williams.

“We’ve been quick in the past to write off some of the greats of the game,” Perry said. “We just expect at some point it is going to come to an end for the likes of John Higgins, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan, because they’ve been there for so long.

“Whenever we make the mistake of thinking it is the start of the decline they bounce back and have their best ever season. I won’t be writing them off for a long time. They are greats of the game and we will probably never see the likes again over that period of longevity.”

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