Neil Robertson is looking good to regain the world No.1 ranking in snooker for the first time in 11 years as the master Australian cueman powered into the quarter-finals after a "near-perfect" victory at the China Open.
At the age of 44, Melbourne's "Thunder from Down Under" is playing some of his best snooker after a lean spell and should he go on to win the tournament on Sunday with three more wins, he'll have made it back to the summit of the game by topping the world rankings.
Robertson feels he'll take some stopping for the Stg $A477,000 winner's prize after breezing through his second-round match brilliantly 6-2 against Si Jiahui, forging away from the local player with breaks of 89, 102 and 79.
