Scottish Open 2022: Repeat of Mark Selby performance was unlikely, says Robertson after Joe O'Connor defeat
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Updated 04/12/2022 at 12:30 GMT
Neil Robertson exited the Scottish Open at the semi-final stage after a shock 6-3 defeat to Joe O'Connor. Robertson had few complaints after the result following a superb display of snooker from O'Connor. O'Connor will now appear in his first final on Sunday afternoon when he takes on Gary Wilson. The world No. 4 believes it's good for the sport to have less-fancied names reaching the final.
O’Connor produces 'break of the tournament' to stun Robertson at Scottish Open
Neil Robertson had few complaints after bowing out of the Scottish Open at the semi-final stage, following a 6-3 defeat to Joe O'Connor.
Despite scoring three centuries in the match, the world No. 4 was dumped out by O'Connor, who is now set for his first final appearance.
He said: “You have to give Joe credit.
“You can't play how I did last night [against Mark Selby] in back-to-back matches; it's almost impossible. Especially when, I talked about it last night, where every time I went to the pack I landed on balls with opportunities to pot and keep the breaks going.
“It was just one of those matches where not everything is going to go your way, which is completely fine - it's snooker.
“I was 3-2 up and had three big centuries, but Joe was playing very well too. I had a shot to a long red at 3-2 up and potting wasn't a problem, but getting the right cannon on the red on the top cushion was.
“I favoured a pot on the slightly thin side to guarantee a good cannon and he stepped in and made a good break himself.”
Robertson admitted his only regret from the match came with the score at 3-3 and lost his concentration at a pivotal moment in the contest, deciding to play the wrong shot in hindsight.
“The only thing I was kind of disappointed with was at 3-3 when I was on 60, there was a confusion with the score and I had to recalculate things,” he explained.
“I just lost my trail of thought a bit and I messed up what I was going to do. I still had a chance at the red and he's made a fantastic clearance.
“I took a liberty on the black at 4-3 down. I should have just hit it in off the side cushion for the yellow. I just tried to pinch a bit of the pocket to get on the yellow.
“It's the only shot I can look back on where I should've played something different. Other than that, you have to give him a lot of credit, because even my break off in the last frame was quite decent. He knocked in a long red and didn't play past the baulk line really.
"He played positively and made a fantastic break. Every credit to him, he played a fantastic match.”
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Stream the 2023 Masters and more top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch Seventh Heaven, a two-part show about Ronnie O’Sullivan’s historic World Championship win last season, on demand now.
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