Neil Robertson is leaning on the expertise of Ronnie O'Sullivan as he aims to banish his Crucible demons.
Australian star Robertson is the most decorated snooker player ever from overseas and is widely acknowledged as one of the finest talents the game has seen. But despite being a consistent elite performer, the world No.2 has only reached the sport's zenith on one occasion - when he beat Graeme Dott to win the World Championship in 2010.
And more remarkably for a player of Robertson's calibre, he has reached the coveted one-table stage of the semi-finals at the iconic Sheffield theatre just once since claiming his solitary world title 12 years ago.
Robertson entered the 2022 edition of the event as red-hot favourite after winning four tournaments in a mightily impressive season. But he came unstuck once again in April, losing to Jack Lisowski in a dramatic Crucible last 16 decider, despite making a 147 in a thrilling match.
Much has been made of Robertson's persistent World Championship struggles, and the 40-year-old has previously hinted that his underwhelming return is down to the Crucible being a uniquely tight venue. Robertson, a tall player, cannot walk into his shot in his traditional pre-match routine in Sheffield. And he has even brought in bar stools around his practice table in Cambridge in the past to replicate a more restricted match scenario.
But he has now put aside any excuses for his failure to add a second world title, and reflected on being too aggressive in the longer matches, which is costing him crucial frames.
"I do actually know what it is," Robertson told Stephen Hendry's new Cue Tips YouTube channel. "But it’s something that I have to execute properly. It’s nothing to do with mental or anything like that. Look at my match with Jack Lisowski last season, it was a great match, Jack played out of his skin, he was so disciplined as well which was really surprising.
He added: "There was a couple of sessions in that match, I was too aggressive in certain moments where I should have kept it tighter, not negative but make it as hard as possible for him. At the Crucible everyone tries till the end, no matter what, it’s a lot harder to dominate."
Robertson went on to witness No.1 O'Sullivan claim a magnificent seventh Crucible crown with victory over Judd Trump in the final. And the left-hander has revealed he has taken hints and tips from the Rocket, both in observing his matches and in conversation with the game's greatest player as he targets a change in fortunes next time around.
"I really watched Ronnie a lot in these World Championships, the amount of easy chances he was creating for himself because his safety was so good, so disciplined, not giving anything away," Robertson said.
"That’s a big area I’m focusing on this season, I like to play the aggressive shot, but I just need to be smarter with the way I go about it, don’t give frames away. I’ve talked to some players, I’ve talked to Ronnie about it and I’ve been given a couple of tools now which I think will be helpful.
"I can’t hide away from it, people always go back to me not being to the one-table."
