Firstly Joe, this has been a brilliant season for you
reaching the latter stages of a lot of ranking events this season, and winning
one of the Asian Tour events at the very start of the season. Would you put it
down as one of your best ever seasons since turning professional?
This has probably been
my best ever season as a professional.
I mentioned it briefly there, but how pleasing for you was
it to win your first ever ranking event of any kind (this being a minor ranking
event) at the Yixing Open, and did this give you the confidence to achieve what
you have done in the rest of the season?
It was a fantastic
feeling to finally win a ranking event and I think it had a big impact on my
season, it gave me some self-belief which has always been missing.
This season you have reached the quarter-finals of the
Players Championship, Wuxi Classic, German Masters and Australian Open, as well
as reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Open and the International
Championship. Which one of those would you say was your best performance, and
are do you feel that you should’ve won any of those events?
I'd say the
International was my best performance as I played well in every match but I do
feel that the PTC finals was probably my best chance to win one.
Onto the World Championships then, how do you rate your
chances of having a good run at the Crucible this year, after a nice confidence
boosting year?
Who knows, the field
is so strong this year and it really is one match at a time.
Your best performance in Sheffield is the semi-finals in
2008, do you believe you can better this this year, or at least before your
career is over, and do you think you will ever win a World Championship?
It will be tough
because I'm in the same section as Ronnie O’Sullivan but hopefully I will have
a few more cracks at it.
Having not qualified for the China Open, do you think that
extra week off to prepare will give you a better chance, or do you think that
it’s irrelevant?
I don't think it makes
a difference to be honest.
A lot of players have complained in the past about being
burnt out when the World Championships have come around. Do you think it is
possible to be burnt out from all of the playing and travelling, or is it just
a myth?
I'm not sure it's
burnout, probably more due to a loss of form at the wrong time, it's hard to
play at the top of your game all season long.
You practice a lot with world No.1 Neil Robertson these
days, he’s said on a few occasions how much that has helped his game. Do you
think that has also helped your game considerably, and do you and Neil spur
each other on?
Yes it has helped and
I do think we both want each other to win even if we don't always show it.
Is there a lot of Football banter between you and Neil,
given the fact that he is a Chelsea fan (or a Man Utd fan depending on who you
ask) and you’re an Arsenal fan?
Yes the only time we
argue is when we talk about football.
Who are your other big friends on the tour who you socialise
with most at tournaments?
My main friends on
tour are Barry Hawkins, Gerrard Greene, Mark Davis and Holty (Michael Holt) but
I pretty much get on with everyone.
What do you enjoying do most when you are away from the
snooker table?
Spending time with my
family and the odd game of golf with my oldest friends.
Do you still have high hopes of winning a full ranking
event?
Yes I still believe I
have a win or two in me, I'd find it hard to carry on if I didn't.
You’re managed by the brilliant On Q promotions player
management company, who are also involved with a lot of young players. Who do
you think the brightest of their young players is, and who do you think are the
brightest young prospects in the game currently?
I'd say Michael White
is the best young player they have but Shane Castle looks an exciting prospect.
What do you aim to achieve in the remainder of your career
(other than to win a major ranking event as I mentioned) and what do you want
to do when you finish playing?
I just want to stay
competitive and keep enjoying snooker. I'm currently building a property
portfolio so I'll probably go into that if I can win enough money!
You’re 39 now, reaching the Big 40 in August (like you need
reminding) so how long do you think you have left in the game, and when will
you know that it’s time to retire?
I have no idea, I'm
not worried about the new players coming through, more concerned with how much
longer I will love playing snooker, once that day arrives then it's time to
stop. Hopefully a long time yet.
I'd like to thank Joe a lot for taking part in the interview and I would like to wish him the best of luck in his World Championship campaign.
Stay tuned here for more interviews and features as we run through the World Snooker Championships for 2014.
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