UK Championship snooker 2020 – Neil Robertson: I want to play like Roger Federer

ByBen Snowball

Updated 05/12/2020 at 18:48 GMT

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic popped up in snooker conversation after Neil Robertson’s latest win at the UK Championship. Robertson revealed his admiration for Federer’s style of play, while Ronnie O’Sullivan suggested other players may want to start looking at their diets and follow in the footsteps of the likes of Robertson and Djokovic.

Neil Robertson says he wants to play snooker how Roger Federer plays tennis – “the proper way”.

The Australian reached his first Triple Crown final since 2015 with a crushing 6-2 win over Zhou Yuelong, which saw him make three centuries. He will meet either Judd Trump or Lu Ning in Sunday’s final.

Speaking to Eurosport after his win in Milton Keynes' Marshall Arena, which is hosting the tournament instead of usual venue York due to Covid-19 restrictions, Robertson said he had no interest in grinding out wins.

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"I want to play the proper way", he said. "You watch people like Federer, and guys like that, the way they go about it and win trophies. I want to win the right way.

"I’ve won enough tournaments mixing it up with different varieties, but I want to win the right way and I think that’s what’s led me to have success these last few years."

Robertson: I want to play like Federer

Eurosport pundit Ronnie O’Sullivan leapt on the tennis analogy, drawing parallels between Robertson and Novak Djokovic after both enjoyed an upturn in performances since switching to a plant-based diet.

"Djokovic changed his diet and all of a sudden couldn’t stop winning majors,” said O’Sullivan, adding on Robertson: "You look at him now, he looks much fitter and much healthier.

"And if you walk along the hotel corridor now, all you can see are Nando’s bags and bags of chips. And you know it’s from snooker players…

"This is a business and he [Robertson] is investing in himself. When you invest in yourself, you can produce. But when you’re a bit lackadaisical in your preparation, you get mediocre results."

He added: "It can just be the little things that the other players should really take notice of."

Watch Robertson close out semi-final victory with break of 89

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