Perry – Yushan Defeat Was Bitter Blow
Joe Perry admits his defeat against Ali Carter in the final of last week’s World Open was one of the most disappointing moments of his career.
Perry was denied a second ranking title after losing 10-8 to Carter in Yushan, China. The result had echoes of the 2014 Wuxi Classic final when he lost 10-9 to Neil Robertson, but 41-year-old Perry says this time it’s harder to take.
“I thought I played well against Neil in 2014 and he pipped me fair and square,” said world number 11 Perry. “This time I let myself down with my level of play in the early stages. I was just missing easy balls and I couldn’t put my finger on why.
“As a whole it was a really good event for me. Especially as I came into the tournament with no form or confidence. I would have taken reaching the final beforehand, but in the circumstances it did turn out to be a huge disappointment not to win.
“It’s a funny time of the season because it is very stop start. I didn’t judge my practice correctly for the Riga Open and didn’t play well enough. I put in a bit of work ahead of Yushan and that paid off as I played a lot of good matches.
“Over the next few weeks I will be renovating my house so I won’t be able to practise as much ahead of the Paul Hunter Classic. It is a big event, not so much in terms of rankings, but Paul is obviously a legend of the game. But I may have to accept going into that one slightly underprepared.”
The player nicknamed The Gentleman enjoyed the best season of his career in 2014/15, climbing to ninth in the world and winning his maiden ranking title at the Players Championship. However that means he has a lot of money coming off his two-year rolling ranking total during the current campaign and he knows he has his work cut out to stay in his current position of 11th.
“I’m not really putting any pressure on myself this year,” said the Chatteris cueman. “I’ve said I’m not a fan of the way the system works. It is going to be very hard for me to stay where I am. But I’m just going to keep enjoying playing and try to win as many matches as I can. At this stage in my career, my aim is to win every event I enter.”
Perry is also looking forward to the introduction of the brand new Home Nations Series in 2016/17. It all kicks off with the English Open in Manchester in October. The Scottish and Irish Opens follow later on this year and then the Welsh Open next February.
“All the players are really welcoming the new events,” said Perry. “The tour has been committed in recent years to travelling the world and growing the game. We have gone everywhere and that’s important, but the game’s home is in Britain and I hope these events are really well supported. It is nice to get back to grassroots and get the fans in the UK on side and supporting the tour.”
See Joe in action during the 2016/17 Home Nations Series. Tickets on sale now- for details CLICK HERE
English Open – Event City, Manchester, October 10-16
Irish Open – Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast, November 14-20
Scottish Open – Emirates Arena, Glasgow, December 12-18
Welsh Open – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, February 13-19