First major ranking event of the season and the match of the season!

Written by Rachael Rodgers
 
It was the match everyone wanted to see, especially in Australia with it involving Melbourne's golden boy Neil Robertson against the Welshman who had already but the end to one Aussie's hopes Dominic Dale.

The match has been described as epic and to be fair it wasn't far off, Dominic had the game from the start making his presence felt from the off.  Leading 3-1 to the interval when they came back Neil pulled it in a little to 3-2 but in the sixth frame Dominic stepped ever closer by make it 4-2, it was frame 7 and 8 that increased the nail biting and conversations on twitter about the size of players conkers. (Don't ask!)

 It was into a deciding frame that to be fair could have gone either way, both players played exceptionally and when it came to snookers Dominic was the winner. His final snooker on Neil left him with the 4 points he desperately needed and control over the pink and black.
 Of which he stayed cool, calm and collected for and potted them with confidence and ease to win the favoured Australian by 1 point.  After the match  Neil Robertson said:

"It was definitely the match of the tournament so far," said a dejected Robertson. "It's just one of those disappointing things. He made a great snooker with the pink and black left on the table.

"I thought I played good in the match but had a bad patch - it's just one of those things and in sport sometimes you get bad breaks. You have to hand it to Dominic and he played very well. When I was getting in the balls I was scoring well. The crowd were absolutely terrific and they gave me a great ovation. I'm really disappointed for them."

Dominic commented that the atmosphere was magical and the occasion was possibly one on the best of his 19 year career. And was even gracious enough to praise his opponent for his quarter final match.

"It's up there as one of the best matches I've ever played in for drama and excitement," said Dale, who now meets countryman Mark Williams in the quarter-finals. "You just live for matches like that and I loved the excitement. This is a big win for me and to hold myself together was quite tough. I've had a few great matches with Neil and this was definitely one of them. I will go to bed thinking I'm lucky to still be in it. I played some very good safety but also some shockers and maybe I was a bit too cautious.

"Mark is an unbelievable player and the world number one. He dropped down in the 40s and just decided to dedicate himself practising eight or ten hours a day and it's one of the finest sports feats ever across any sport."

Dominic Dale Progresses in Australia

Dominic Dale progresses to the next round in Australia, beating Steve Difsud 5-2 after a challenging match, more of a challenge than the scores would have you believe. Dale is still suffering jet lag and is failing to get more than 3 hours sleep a night.  He now goes on the play Neil Robertson on Thursday, who today was also suffering from Jet lag after flying from Bangkok to Australia in the early hours of yesterday morning.  Not wishing to be biased but as a player I feel Dominic offers more as a player of excitement. He has worked hard to pull himself back up the rankings and even though I like Neil Robertson, I will be hoping Dominic gets through!

Dominic bids good night Vienna

(Taken from World Snooker)

Dominic Dale is moving back to the UK after four years in Vienna in order to cope with his busy snooker schedule.

The former Grand Prix and Roewe Shanghai Masters champion will leave the Austrian capital this weekend and live close to his practice base, the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.

Welshman Dale, age 39, had a fine season in 2009/10, winning a PTC event and climbing to No 31 in the world rankings, and hopes to continue that momentum in 2010/11.

"When I had a good look at the tournament calendar last month, I worked out that travelling to and fro from Vienna for the whole season was going to cost me around £15,000," said Dale. "Last season I was paying for flights and then staying in hotels in Gloucester where I practise and hotels in Sheffield for the PTC events and qualifiers.

"To be based anywhere other than the UK is prohibitively expensive because there are so many tournaments now. As the Americans say, it was a 'no-brainer' for me to move back to the UK.

"I will be sad to leave Vienna because I have a lot of friends there. I want to say thanks to the Koo 15 Reds snooker club for the support and friendship I had there. I love the culture in Vienna, the beautiful buildings, the opera house and the cosmopolitan nature of the city. I will miss it but I can still go back on holiday. I'm not a sentimental person so I'm not worried about the move.

"I had a good mindset last season and practising on my own in Vienna wasn't a problem, especially as I would come to the UK a few days before each event and play against other professionals. But I did get a bit jaded here and there from the travelling.

"I have to take an objective view of things because I am a professional sportsman and I want to do well. As a self-employed sportsman you have to consider yourself a business, and from a financial perspective it doesn't make sense any more to live outside the UK.

"The Academy in Gloucester is a great place to practise. The tables there are Championship standard and it's not often in my career that I've had the chance to play on tables like that every day. I still feel that I have another decade as a snooker player and this will help me get the best out of myself. It's up to me to make the best of this opportunity."

Dale is looking forward to the new season with enthusiasm and is particularly keen to qualify for the Australian Goldfields Open in July, which will be the first ranking event ever staged in Australia.

"It's important for snooker to be in Australia, particularly with Neil Robertson as their lynchpin at the moment," said Dale. "We have to look at the future of the game and realise that if it grows there then there could be more events with more prize money.

"If I qualify I won't mind flying economy, I've done it a few times before. You can get a flight for around £1,200 so the players who qualify will still make money, have a great time and get some ranking points. Some of the players sometimes expect too much or get a bit greedy and don't realise the importance of going to play in events like this."

As for his overall targets for the season, Dale added: "I just want to continue to improve. I believe that I'm good enough to beat anyone. I'm fit and dedicated and I feel like a 25-year-old. In terms of the rankings, obviously I want to stay in the top 32 and maybe have a go at the top 16, although the top 20 is more realistic."