John Higgins makes 'brutal' snooker admission after stunning Masters defeat
John Higgins suffered a first-round defeat to Neil Robertson at the Masters earlier this month and the snooker icon has opened up on the pain of defeat
Snooker legend John Higgins has spoken openly about the heartbreak of his first-round Masters defeat to Neil Robertson.
The 'Wizard of Wishaw' made a promising start at Alexandra Palace, racing to a 5-1 lead against the Aussie, only to suffer a stunning reversal and crash out after losing five frames in a row. To add insult to injury, Robertson has been a last-minute inclusion in the tournament.
Robertson had replaced then-reigning champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, who withdrew from the Masters for medical reasons. Despite his win over Higgins, the Aussie only lasted until the quarter-finals, where he lost out to eventual winner Shaun Murphy.
For Higgins, his loss to Robertson compounded the pain of his second-round exit at the UK Championship following an epic encounter with Judd Trump. The 49-year-old returned to winning ways against world No.53 Mark Davis at the German Masters earlier this week but was honest about the toll snooker can bring to his life.
READ MORE: Snooker star rushed to hospital and forced to pull out of German MastersREAD MORE: Shaun Murphy reveals amazing response from spectator to Kyren Wilson swipe"This is a sport that has given me so much over the years but it begins to take your soul bit by bit," Higgins admitted to WST. "This has been a good sport for me, but as you fall down the rankings it can begin to take that bit of goodness. It is a brutal sport sometimes.
"That was a good win. Mark has always been really tough and given me some tough battles. It is always a good game when I play him and that was another one."
Following his hard-fought 5-3 win, Higgins faced Jak Jones on Wednesday and was defeated by the same scoreline. It is a tough run of form for the four-time world champion, who is scheduled to face Davis in a rematch at the World Open in February.
Meanwhile, following his brief run at the Masters, Robertson has been awarded one of Australia's highest honours—the Medal of the Order of Australia. Delighted to receive his OAM, equivalent to an MBE, Robertson shared: "A lot of people know who I am in Australia, but snooker is such a tough sport to break through with there because we are so good at so many sports.
"Most of them are outdoor sports, it is tough to compete with those, but this is massive recognition for what I've done and hopefully it will encourage me to do greater things."
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