Robert Milkins turns 36 next Tuesday. He is due to
become a father for the second time on Monday.
And it's shaping up to be a really memorable week
for the Gloucester man as he appears in the second ranking event semi-final of
his career at the Haikou World Open today.
His first was seven years ago at the Irish Masters.
My memory of that was that he was 8-5 up to Matthew Stevens, who potted a
ridiculously good green to deny him victory in frame 14 and went on to win 9-8.
Having come so close to a major final, perhaps Rob's
confidence got knocked a little but it has clearly returned this week.
He made sure to credit Terry Griffiths, director of
coaching at the South West Snooker Academy, for helping him not just with his
game but also his mind.
Clarity of thought in snooker is so important:
blocking out the doubts and distractions and just playing the balls.
Milkins did this with great aplomb yesterday in
defeating John Higgins, who himself played well.
It was one of Milkins's best ever wins and he has
every reason to believe he can beat Stephen Lee today and reach the final.
2 comments:
Good to see Milkins have a run. There are few players more watchable when he's in full flow.
Didn't expect him to beat Lee. The Higgins match was massive and like a final for Rob in some ways.
Wonder if he had beaten Stevens in the IM 7 years ago how his career would have panned out. Might have won a few rankers since.
Hope it wasn't a one off. I think he is good for the game.
Can't read the posts on iPhone anymore. That's a pity. Background with balls is overruling text.
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