February 22nd 2024.
Mark Selby had an unstoppable performance against Ronnie O'Sullivan, and he believes it will put an end to the constant tinkering and tweaking he's been doing to his game. After his impressive 6-0 victory, Selby feels confident that he's on the right track.
On Thursday night, Selby put on a show for the crowd, knocking in breaks of 65, 91, 81, 105, and 59. He even came from behind in the final frame to secure his victory on the black. While O'Sullivan may not have been at his best, it was clear that Selby was in complete control of the table.
Selby's recent struggles were evident in his early defeat at the Welsh Open last week, followed by a slow start in his opening round match against Barry Hawkins in Telford. However, after a break, Selby seemed to have found his rhythm and went on to defeat Hawkins impressively before whitewashing O'Sullivan in a similar fashion.
"I'm over the moon to beat Ronnie in any tournament, let alone by such a large margin," Selby shared in an interview on ITV4. He went on to explain that his confidence grew during his match against Hawkins and he was able to carry that into his game against O'Sullivan.
Unfortunately, it was an evening to forget for O'Sullivan, who couldn't seem to find his groove against Selby. But Selby's victory has given him a newfound confidence and he's ready to put an end to his constant game adjustments.
"I tend to tinker and tweak things when I'm not getting the results I want," Selby admitted. "But these two performances have shown me that what I'm doing now is working, regardless of wins or losses."
Selby's next opponent will be determined by the upcoming quarter-final match between John Higgins and Zhang Anda. Selby is well aware of Higgins' talent and the impressive season that Zhang has had, making it difficult to predict who will come out on top.
"John is a great player and we've had some great matches," Selby said. "Anda has been phenomenal this season, so it could go either way. But John is definitely the favorite."
The winner of the quarter-final match will face Selby in the semi-finals, and Selby is ready for whatever challenge comes his way. "The game is hard enough without constantly thinking about how to play," Selby said. "I felt calm and confident during my match against Ronnie, and that's a big factor when playing against someone like him."
Next up for Selby is either John Higgins or Zhang Anda in the semi-finals, saying of their upcoming quarter-final: ‘Obviously John’s a great player, we’ve had some great matches.
‘Anda this season has been phenomenal, so that game could go either way, obviously John starts favourite.’
Zhang and Higgins meet at 1pm on Friday before the first semi-final between Ali Carter and Mark Allen at 7pm.
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