Mark Selby

I'll bounce back

Thu Oct 08 05:14PM

The Grand Prix ended for me with a first round defeat to Ken Doherty and obviously I'm disappointed because I wanted to have a good run in this tournament.

However, I'm not too disheartened about things; I still feel I'm playing quite well. I played two or three shots badly at big times and the run of the balls went against me at other times but these things happen in snooker.

I had a couple of chances to win the second frame which would have put me 2-0 in front and I suppose when you look back on the match that proved to be the turning point.

However, it was not a case of that frame lingering in the back of my mind for the rest of the match or anything like that. Ken played quite well and things just did not go for me. I have played worse in the past and won but snooker is just so competitive these days that you have to be at your best.

I am now 14th in the provisional rankings, but I'm still quite relaxed about things, and not yet worried about dropping out of the top 16 or anything.

I know that I will win matches before the end of the season and do better in tournaments and once you starting winning matches the ranking takes care of itself.

The next ranking event is the UK Championship and that does not take place until December which I suppose is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Obviously, after you get knocked out from a tournament all you want to do is get back out there and play and if there was another tournament this week I'd jump at the chance to play it.

But on the other hand, I have struggled so far this season so the extra time will give me a chance to put in more hours on the practice table and make sure I'm fully prepared for Telford.

That event is also played over the longer format which I'm happy about. I think all the players prefer the longer format because the best-of-nine matches are very cut-throat and if you start slowly it is very hard to get back into things.

To prepare for the UK Championships I have lined up a couple of exhibition matches with John Higgins at the end of the month - one in Copenhagen, Denmark and one in Bucharest, Romania.

I have also signed up for the next Pro Challenge Series which will be played in my home-town of Leicester in November. The event is actually being played at the snooker club where I used to practise as a junior so hopefully that will give me an advantage.

After that I will just try and play lots of practice matches. It would have been great to have been in the Premier League again this year as those players have a little bit of an advantage because they are playing more competitive snooker.

But it does not always work out that way either. Judd Trump is playing in the Premier League and he has not won a match in a ranking event this year either.

It is just tough out there because there are so many good players - there are no easy matches for anyone.

Log on to eurosport.yahoo.co.uk on Friday when Mark will answer questions set by you the readers and where you can also pose a question of your own.

Grand Prix LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) and British Eurosport 2 (Sky 411 / Virgin Media 525; Also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player.

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