The 43 degree heat of Riyadh has not been conducive to Jimmy Robertson's exercise routine this week, but the Englishman is feeling a warm glow as he looks ahead to his quarter-final appearance on Thursday.
Robertson knocked World Champion Kyren Wilson out of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters on Wednesday night, a hard-fought 6-4 success putting him into the last eight of a ranking event for the seventh time in his career. He meets Mark Williams tonight, already assured a bumper £50,000 pay day and a guaranteed boost from his current ranking position of 52nd.
The past few years have not been easy for Robertson - he came perilously close to relegation from the pro tour in 2021 and is learning to live with an essential tremor which sometimes makes his "arms feel like jelly." Determined not to dwell on his misfortune, Robertson took up running and has lost three stone in weight.
"I have worked so hard, off the table, for the last six months," said the Sussex cueman, who won his sole ranking title at the 2018 European Masters. "I have changed my lifestyle and I feel much better in myself, because I want to be fit and healthy. Hopefully I am now seeing that in my results and my confidence. I have been running a little bit this week but it's so hot, I don't want to sweat too much before matches.
"It was a real struggle against Kyren, but it's a massive win for me, to beat the World Champion. I played him in China a couple of weeks ago and lost 5-4 from 4-2 up. There were moments tonight when bad thoughts started creeping in that the same thing could happen again. But I dug in and made a good break (73) in the last frame.
"It's a good run, to get to the quarter-finals of such a big tournament. Hopefully I can relax now and show how I can play. There are only eight players left and there are some all-time greats in there. But if I can play my snooker and forget about everything else, I've always got a chance."