Joe Perry holds nerve to knock Neil Robertson out at first-round stage of UK Championship at Barbican Centre

ByEurosport

Updated 13/11/2022 at 20:07 GMT

Joe Perry held his nerve, seeing off a mini-fightback from Neil Robertson, to seal a 6-2 win at the UK Championship. Perry took an out-of-sorts Robertson to task during the first mini-session, collecting all four frames on the back of breaks of 102, 85 and 68. Robertson mustered breaks of 88 and 62 after the interval but Perry held firm to claim the win.

Joe Perry beat world No. 2 Neil Robertson 6-2 to seal his place in the last 16 of the UK Championship at the Barbican Centre in York.

Perry took an out-of-sorts Robertson to task during the first mini-session – collecting all four frames on the back of breaks of 102, 85 and 68. While Robertson showed flashes of his excellence after the interval with an 88 and 62, Perry sealed the win in frame eight.

World No. 30 Perry settled any nerves against close friend Robertson in frame one, producing an opening run of 102 after a scrappy start to the frame.

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'The Gentleman' was then the beneficiary of a moment of sportsmanship from Robertson in the second after another scratchy start to the frame. The Melburnian faintly clipped a red as he sunk the pink, and immediately alerted referee Tatiana Woollaston to his indiscretion. Perry, after another bout of safety exchanges, took the opportunity, mopping up the table for an 85 and a two-frame lead.

After a trademark booming red in frame three, 2010 world champion Robertson looked set to compile his first meaningful break of the day. However, loose positional play let him down and he had to retreat to baulk with 23 to his name. After a safety battle, Perry used all of his wits to put together a third break in excess of 50 – this time 68 – to further his advantage.

An out-of-sorts Robertson continued to struggle in the fourth frame. Another long red was followed by a missed brown to middle, and then, having sunk a plant after a Perry error, he misjudged a swerve shot after more sub-par positional play. Perry failed to take those two opportunities to open a four-frame lead. However, when offered a third opportunity, he took it.

Robertson’s highest contribution pre-interval was 20, but he opened the second session with a run of 88 to cut the arrears. However, an 81 from Perry in the next put him to within one frame of the last 16.

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Frame seven was a fraught affair. Both players passed up multiple opportunities to take command of it; Robertson finally sealed it with a 62 break but only after Perry spurned a chance to win the match when he pushed a pink to the centre on to its jaw.

'The Thunder from Down Under' now appeared to find his rhythm, striking the ball with confidence and authority at the eighth frame, but he broke down on 41. And Perry made no mistake this time, clearing to the pink and making a 64 to move into the next round.

The result means Robertson – the winner of the event in 2020 – has lost in the first round in both years since.

"He played very well when he was in the balls," Robertson told the BBC. "He was deadly in the balls, played very well with any kind of chance when he was in amongst them.

"You get your cue out of the case, you’re fit, no excuses," he said when asked about not feeling well. "It’s irrelevant. If I felt 100 per cent every single match you play you’d win all the time.

"I tried my best, I think I did pretty well to get a couple of frames back, tried to give it absolutely everything, then who knows, with a few days off you’ve got time to recover.

"But no, Joe played really well in the balls, I’d have to be at my absolute best to win today."

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