Wuxi Classic: Neil Robertson beat John Higgins in the final in China
Neil Robertson beat John Higgins in a battle of snooker's two in-form players in the final of the Wuxi Classic.
Last Updated: 23/06/13 5:32pm
The Australian was beaten by Higgins in the season-opening Bulgarian PTC two weeks ago, but reversed the outcome in China with a 10-7 victory.
Robertson trailed early but six frames on the bounce took him from 5-2 down to 8-5 ahead and, even though Higgins twice got back to within two, Robertson was able to shake off some late anxiety and rack up an eighth major career win.
The Melbourne potter, who top-scored in the match with a 113, was off the pace in the opening session - perhaps underdone after a routine passage to the final - and headed to the break a frame down as Higgins continued his form from Sofia.
He had the momentum from taking the last two frames of the afternoon, though, and continued in that vein to send Higgins to defeat.
"It's unbelievable to win two titles in a row in China because a couple of years ago I would have been happy just to win back-to-back matches here," Robertson told worldsnooker.com.
"This is easily one of the proudest moments of my career.
"I always knew I could win tournaments in the UK but there was a question mark over whether I could deal with playing in China.
"The playing conditions here this week have been the best I have ever played in. I'll go to the Shanghai Masters in September full of confidence and there's no reason why I can't win three in a row in China."
