ROBERTSON TAKES COMMENTATORS TO TASK

There was plenty going through Neil Robertson’s mind as he wrapped up victory over Judd Trump on an incredible evening at the Crucible on Wednesday. Still euphoric after becoming the first man to make 100 century breaks in a season at a crucial stage of the match to level at 11-11 and then completing a 13-11 victory, the Australian still had other concerns.

On his way out of the arena he headed straight for the commentary box to good-naturedly remonstrate with those inside about jokes making the audience laugh earlier in the quarter-final. Willie Thorne pleaded not guilty, pointing the finger of blame at Terry Griffiths.

World No1 Robertson, a mad-keen Chelsea fan, also wanted to know the crucial score from Stamford Bridge where the Blues had been playing Atletico Madrid in the second leg of a Champions League semi-final. But on the front there was some rare bad news of a 3-1 defeat and exit from the competition.

With the win and the milestone safely tucked away though, as Meat Loaf might have said: Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.

DECISION TIME OVER O'SULLIVAN AND ROBERTSON

The BBC top brass were agonising on Monday afternoon about which of the quarter-finals to show live on Tuesday afternoon, with a potentially difficult choice between Ronnie O’Sullivan v Shaun Murphy/Marco Fu, and Neil Robertson v Judd Trump/Ryan Day at the time of writing.

The case for showing O’Sullivan, who gives the TV ratings a huge spike whenever he is on let alone at the Crucible and the World Championship, pretty much states itself. But bosses were leaning towards the Robertson match.

The prospect of possibly seeing the world No1 reach the historic milestone of 100 century breaks in a single season live on the BBC was one they were extremely reluctant to forego, and the chances were that if Trump prevailed against Day, making the quarter-final an especially attractive match-up, that might tip the balance.

The fact that Murphy and Trump emerged as the winners if anything made the decision, which is awaited with interest, even harder.

TREADMILL TAKING ITS TOLL

Maybe the demands of a long, hard season are catching up with a few of the players with both world No1 Neil Robertson and world No3 Ding Junhui, two of the undoubted men of the current campaign, suffering with illness during their first-round defeats in Preston. With the China Open following fast after this tournament, a few extra days recovery might not prove the worst thing in the world for either player – especially given the proximity of the World Championships just over three weeks away. It is there that both will want to peak, something they failed to do 12 months ago.

Robertson is just one of the top players who may be looking to follow Ronnie O’Sullivan’s example and attempt to be in peak condition for the major tournaments rather than play in just about everything in a mad scramble for points and money. Admittedly, a luxury that is far easier for a player to indulge with recent tournament successes and a few quid in the bank behind him. Michael Holt was another pleading “the worst case of man flu”, a state of distress not helped by the turmoil surrounding his beloved Nottingham Forest who sacked manager Billy Davies this week with their play-off chances starting to fade away.