Gibraltar Open 2022 - 'Nobody's achieved what I've achieved' - Neil Robertson affirms status as a snooker 'great'

Updated 24/03/2022 at 18:21 GMT

“I'm the only person in the history of the game that has been able to do what I've done," said Aussie star Neil Robertson after his Gibraltar Open first round win over Liang Wenbo. “You know, the only world champion to come from the southern hemisphere. Nobody's achieved what I've achieved in the game." Watch the Gibraltar Open live on Eurosport and discovery+.

Neil Robertson (WST)

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Neil Robertson believes he is in ‘a different category to a lot of other people’ in snooker after his achievements in the game.

The Australian who has won three titles this season including the Masters, picked up a 4-2 win over Liang Wenbo in the first round of the Gibraltar Open.

Speaking afterwards, Robertson, 40, was asked if he considered himself one of the greats of the game and his response was emphatic.

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“I don't think you can really dispute that,” he told WST.

“I'm the only person in the history of the game that has been able to do what I've done.

“You know, the only world champion to come from the southern hemisphere. Nobody's achieved what I've achieved in the game.

“So I'm in a different sort of category than a lot of other people.”

Robertson has a haul of 22 career rankings titles to date but believes he could have won even more if he didn’t grow up in Australia; he says himself and players like China’s Ding Junhui are trailblazers in the sport.

“I think if I was a kid who was brought up in the UK, I probably would have won a lot more because I would have started four or five years earlier and ahead of the time I did.

“But in saying that, I've had an unbelievable career and you look at players like Ding and what they've done for the sport as well.

“We've seen a lot of overseas winners this season, which has been fantastic.

“I like to think that Ding and I have shown that it can be done living on the other side of the world.

“I'm really pleased to see the young players coming through from other countries doing really well.”

Watch the Gibraltar Open live on Eurosport and discovery+.

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