Zak Surety's run to the semi-finals of the recent Weide Cup World Open in Yushan, China, was the best of his career so far. He could have gone further, but missed several chances to beat John Higgins and lost 6-5. We caught up with the world number 73 to look back on his experience.
Zak, how do you reflect overall on the week?
It's still sinking in, I'm still not sure it all happened. It's a weird feeling. It went from being the best week of my life to the worst in about 30 minutes. When I was 5-3 up I went to the toilet and looked at myself in the mirror and just laughed, it was so surreal. John Higgins is a God from the TV, I'd usually struggle to look him in the face. And there I was beating him in a semi-final. The shot I keep going back to is the safety I played at 5-3. I'd made 53 and I had a long red to the yellow pocket. I'd taken on a few similar shots that week and they had gone in. But I played safe, it went wrong and I let John back in. I should have just gone for the red. Or at least played the safety better. Once it went 5-4 I felt a lot more pressure. Then I missed two reds in the decider, after I had potted some great balls. But 5-3 was when it all changed. Usually I get negative thoughts but at that point I had convinced myself I was going to win. There were a few photographers getting into position and I felt 'this is my moment'. At 5-4 my mindset changed and I was thinking about whether I would ever get this kind of chance to get to a final again. I am gutted.
Do you feel you would have gone on to win the tournament?
Who knows. Joe O'Connor is a fantastic player, I think he'll be in the top 16 before long. But it wouldn't have been like playing Judd Trump or Ronnie O'Sullivan. I would have felt I had a great chance. Obviously it was still an amazing week and £33,000 is a lot in terms of the money and ranking points. But £175,000 would have been better.
How was the journey home afterwards?
I think I set a new record for setting from Yushan back to the UK. I was devastated and I just wanted to go home. I lost around 6.30pm, we went back to the hotel and checked out and caught a bullet train at 8.40pm. We were at Shanghai airport by 12.30am and there was a flight at 2.15am. We went to the Air China desk, haggled a bit on the business class price then booked the seats. We landed at Gatwick at 6.15am. My friends were texting me saying 'bad luck, when do you get back?' and I said 'I'm on the M25!'
You must take positives from the week and the matches you won?
Yes, I played well and scored heavily. Particularly against Liu Hongyu, I played really well in that game. And playing Tom Ford on the TV table, I wasn't sure how I would deal with that but I settled straight into it and felt I could win. So that's good to know, that I can handle those situations.
How do you usually cope with the trips to China for tournaments?
I'm not the best traveller, I struggle with it. The one in Wuhan earlier this season, I had bad jet lag, I was up all night and cracking up. But it's my job and I know I have to do it. And the venues are usually great and the people love snooker. This time my friend Jason Pegram came with me, and we decided to fly business which makes a big difference. He's a very positive person, so when I get down and start worrying about things, he tells me to shut up. The further in the tournament I was going, he was getting overwhelmed. He was making friends with all the volunteers and the staff in the hotel, getting them to pour him drinks. It was great to have someone to talk to and keep my mind in the right place.
Looking ahead, you've got the World Championship qualifiers and then beyond that do you feel you can keep improving?
I hope so, my results have been good so I must be doing something right. I am seeded into the second round for the World qualifiers now. I have never really got close to the Crucible and that's always the goal. There have been years when I have gone into it in danger of relegation but I don't have that pressure this time.