China Open champion Peter Ebdon believes he can repeat his World Championship success of 2002 at this year's Crucible showpiece.
World number nine talking up his chances after win in Beijing
On the back of his victory at the China Open, Peter Ebdon believes he can repeat his World Championship success of 2002 at this year's Crucible showpiece.
The Kettering potter has struggled to find his form since becoming the ninth player in history to have won both the World and UK Championships in 2006.
He failed to reach a ranking quarter-final in 2007 and that slump continued in 2008. But a recent stint at the World Snooker Academy where he took a thrashing from a group of Chinese and Thai players appears to have worked wonders.
Ebdon responded by winning the Bank of Beijing China Open as an unfancied outsider and now wants to go on to back-to-back success.
Turning point
"I don't see any reason why I can't win it," Ebdon said of the 2009 World Championship. "I'm coming into form at the right time. Not only have I won the World Championship, I've been to another couple of finals as well.
"So I have plenty of experience going into this championship and hopefully I can draw on the grit, experience and determination which I've shown many times in the past and hopefully I can be very, very strong and get the result which I'd like.
"Before the China Open I came to practise at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.
"I played against a lot of very, very good Chinese players there and a couple of the Thai players as well and they beat me comprehensively in practice, so that wound me up a bit and spurred me on to work even harder.
"Fortunately the result came which I dreamed of, in winning the China Open. I put myself in that situation."
Incentive
Ebdon will turn 39 later this year and, while his age is against him, the pain of losing remains a constant torment and motivation.
"It's horrible if you are a winner and you're not winning," he said. "It is the worst feeling in the world.
"When you are successful and you win, you realise that it is something a bit special because you have beaten the best in the world and everyone there is trying their heart out to win the tournament.
"They are really hard to win these days so I'm thrilled to bits. Let's hope I'm peaking at the right time.
"There are no easy matches at Sheffield and I think all of the top players are going to want to win even more this year."
He gets underway against Nigel Bond on Tuesday, with Bond, at 43, one of the few players who is Ebdon's senior in the draw.
