Neil Robertson was in action at the Masters on Sunday as he defeated John Higgins (Image: EUROSPORT)
Masters star joked that he had left his snooker cue at home after arriving at Alexandra Palace ahead of his showdown with on Sunday. The 42-year-old, who was , made the humorous remark after missing his World Open qualifying showdown with Michael Holt before Christmas after .
Robertson won the first frame of his encounter with Higgins but then lost five on the bounce as his rival appeared to be cruising to victory.
But, incredibly, the Aussie won the next five frames to clinch a 6-5 victory and book his place in the quarter-finals.
Robertson arrived at Ally Pally in a white Volvo and was interviewed by Eurosport as soon as he stepped out of the car.
And the two-time champion exclaimed: “[I’m feeling] pretty good. I left my cue at home though, so somebody’s dropping it down now. So, yeah, hopefully it arrives in time.”
After being asked if he was being serious, he then burst into laughter as he stated: “No, of course not.”
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Neil Robertson was in Masters action after missing a World Open qualifying match before Christmas (Image: GETTY)
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Robertson missed out on a place in the World Open after failing to turn up for his encounter with Holt. Detailing the mishap during an interview with , he explained: “For the World Open qualifiers, I got my dates completely messed up with Christmas. I was a day out of sync.
“It was not until Saturday night that Joe Perry sent me a message wishing me good luck for the qualifier. ‘Why has Joe done that? I’m playing tomorrow. I am playing Sunday, aren’t I?’
“I went on the World Snooker website and said, ‘Oh my God, I’m playing in like 27 minutes. I’m in Cambridge and the qualifier is in Sheffield.’
“I told officials: ‘I’m really sorry, I have got my dates completely messed up in my head.’”
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Robertson didn’t allow his recent faux pas to affect him in north London as he showed his mettle to battle back and stun Higgins.
And following the encounter, he said: “It was an unbelievable match. John was playing incredibly well for 5-1 and he didn’t really do anything wrong.
“I played at my absolute best. I am so happy I could take my chance with Ronnie dropping out. That match there shows how well I can play.”
Robertson is set to face Shaun Murphy in the last-eight after the 2015 champion overcame Gary Wilson 6-3 in his opening match on Sunday.