Neil Robertson holds off fightback from Wu Yize to clinch English Open title in Brentwood
Neil Robertson ended a drought of more than two years without a ranking title thanks to his victory during Sunday’s BetVictor English Open final.
The Bottisham-based potting ace raced into an 8-2 lead during the first to nine frames contest against Wu Yize in Brentwood.
However, his Chinese opponent ensured that there would be a nervy end to proceedings by racking up five straight frames before Robertson returned to the table to halt the 20-year-old’s momentum and wrap up a 9-7 triumph.
Robertson, who practises at WT’s sports bar in Cambridge city centre, said: “I haven’t won for a couple of years and I was looking great at 8-2. I played brilliantly in the first session and capitalised on every minor error he had. I then had everything thrown at me.
“I was trying to use little bits of motivation to stay calm. There wasn’t much I could do, because he played amazing. It is just about keeping my composure at all times. You need to be ready for when the chance comes your way and I was.
“Up until 8-2 in the final, you could argue this was the best I’ve ever played in a tournament.
“I controlled so many matches and only conceded five frames to get to the final.”
The win was all the more poignant for Robertson given that it came in front of his father Ian, who is due to shortly return to their native Australia.
“This was the last opportunity for me to win with my dad over before he goes back to Australia,” said the 42-year-old.
“He’s a man of very few words, but he will be chuffed to bits tonight. I’ve spent 20 years as a professional and he’s never seen me win a final in person. I’m really happy to get one for him.”
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Wu added: “I think for the second half of the match I was into it and under no pressure. I felt really good, but it was a little bit too late.
“This was my first final, so I felt a bit of pressure in the afternoon.
“I wasn’t setting myself any goal in this match. In the last 16 I played Judd (Trump) and I wanted to beat him.
“I got my revenge and did that. It was great to play in the final in front of such a great crowd. There are no regrets from me.”
Robertson, who hsas moved up to 15th from 24th in the world rankings, followed the triumph up on Tuesday with a 4-1 win in the opening round of the British Open over Chris Totten.
