Neil Robertson was left to apologise to the fans at the Hong Kong Masters after defeating home favourite Marco Fu 6-4 to reach Sunday’s final. The Australian was out for revenge, having been defeated by the 39-year-old at the last-16 stage of this year’s World Championship, his second loss on the spin against Fu after his defeat at the 2016 Scottish Open. The supporters at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium were hoping to see the Hong Kong native rack up another victory but were left disappointed as Robertson came out on top.
The Melbourne left-hander says a change of tactics from his meeting with Fu at the World Championships played a big part in his semi-final triumph and he can now look forward to competing in the first Hong Kong Masters final. Discussing his win, the former world number one told the South China Morning post: “First of all, sorry everybody for ruining your day. “We both started off a little bit slow but overall I thought the match was played to a very good standard and great spirit so I am very happy to beat one of the world’s best players, Marco Fu, in front of his home crowd.
I can’t wait [to play] in the final.” Robertson will meet five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final after he edged a tight best-of-11 clash against Judd Trump 6-5. The duo have already met twice this year and it is one apiece in head-to-head meetings, with Robertson winning the most recent encounter at the World Grand Prix while O’Sullivan was the victor in their quarter-final battle at the Masters. Meanwhile, O’Sullivan is 7/1 to win the 2018 World Snooker Championship while Robertson is 12/1. Mark Selby is the current favourite at 7/2.
Hong Kong Masters and World Snooker Championship prices available at Dafabet.com.