Mark Selby

Robbo has come of age

Wed Oct 21 05:01PM

I have not blogged since Neil Robertson won the Grand Prix and I have to say the way that he won that event was very impressive.

I lived with Neil for a year when he first arrived in the UK. We were both living in Leicester and practised a lot together and even at that early stage you could tell he was going to be a great player.

Maybe there was a little something lacking in the past but he now seems to have fully emerged as one of the very top players in the game and he may well be the best long potter in the sport.

Neil has talked about how it took a while for him to come out of his shell after arriving in the UK. I've always thought he is a really nice lad but it must have been tough for him moving across to the other side of the world when he was only about 17.

He had to come over on his own and leave his friends and family but now that he is settled over here, knows more people, and has made new friends, it can't do anything but help his game.

He is now provisionally ranked number three in the world and his results speak for themselves.

The Masters draw has recently been made and he has been drawn to face Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round which should be a superb game.

The Masters is a great event because it is all the best players up against each other and you are never going to get an easy draw.

I have been paired with Ding Junhui and that will also be tough because he will be really confident after his run to the final of the Grand Prix.

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Jimmy White's victory at the World Series in Prague last weekend came as no surprise to me because, as the saying goes: "Form is temporary but class is permanent."

Jimmy has obviously got outstanding talent but had a few years there where he was off-form. However, he has been cueing very well for a while now and this is another indication that he is back close to his best.

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I fly out to Copenhagen in Denmark for an exhibition with John Higgins this Sunday. I was meant to play in Romania too but that has been cancelled.

It is a great time to be a snooker player because you get to travel to all these different places where the game has become popular and you always get a warm welcome.

I've never been to Copenhagen so I'm looking forward to seeing a new city. I must have seen most of Europe at this stage through various tournaments and exhibitions.  

I feel very privileged as there are few jobs that I could have done that would have allowed me to see all these places. Certainly if I worked in a factory or something like that I would never have had such an opportunity.

Sometimes on these trips you get a little bit of time to go out and see the city. We arrive on Sunday for the exhibition but the match is not until Monday evening so hopefully I'll have a chance to see some of Copenhagen's sights.  

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. 

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