Ronnie O’Sullivan reckons Neil Robertson will not improve any further as a snooker player at his age, but does not think the newly-crowned Masters champion needs to get any better.
The Australian powered to a second Masters title on Sunday night, hammering Barry Hawkins 10-4 in the final at Alexandra Palace.
The Thunder from Down Under came through an epic tussle with Mark Williams in the semis, winning the last three frames, including the decider when he needed two snookers, and this after he had beaten O’Sullivan himself and Anthony McGill in earlier rounds.
The Rocket has always been a big fan of the Aussie, saying after his semi-final win over Williams: ‘He’s great really. He talks well, he plays well. He’s fantastic for the sport, every one likes him. Fierce competitor. Good.’
The six-time world champ went into further detail on his admiration for Robertson after he lifted the Paul Hunter Trophy, and although it seems a strange compliment, he said the 39-year-old will improve no further, but he doesn’t need to because he is that good.
‘He’s dedicated to the sport, loves the sport, even when he fell off the tour and run out of money, he said, “I’m going back to give it another go”.’ O’Sullivan told Eurosport.
‘It’s perseverance and faith in his ability. He must have known, “I can play this game better than I’m playing it now.”
‘He’s always been blessed with an amazing cue action, he’s always potted a lot of balls. He must have known he was capable of potting everything on the table, he’s just had to learn safety and positional play, he took some advice off Stephen Hendry on his break-building.
‘He’s not going to get any better, but you don’t have to get any better when you’re that good.
‘You’ve just got to keep maintaining what you’ve got and managing what you’ve got.
‘The worst thing you can do is try and improve, you’ve just got to fine tune stuff. Get the right schedule, pick and choose certain tournaments.’
With three UK Championships, one World Championship and now two Masters titles to his name, only seven players have more Triple Crown titles than the Aussie.
The Melbourne man will now be desperate to become a multiple winner of all three Triple Crown events by claiming his second World Championship title in May.
MORE : Neil Robertson brushes aside Barry Hawkins in dominant Masters final performance
MORE : Neil Robertson confident of Masters glory after wild ride at Alexandra Palace
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