NEIL ROBERTSON has set his sights on becoming a multiple major title winner after claiming his first UK Championship crown on Sunday.
The world No.1-ranked Australian beat the defending champion Mark Selby 10-7 in a thrilling final at the York Barbican Centre and, in the process, became only the eighth player to have won all three of the sport's major titles: World Championship, the UK Championship and the Masters.
"I'm going to try to win the worlds, the UK and Masters multiple times now," said Robertson, who earned a £150,000 payday for his ninth ranking tournament success. "That's why I was so happy to win on Sunday night because I've won all three now. I've got the set, and I've won tournaments in China, so there's nothing that I haven't won in the game.
"It's an amazing feeling. I just want to go to the Masters next month and play the way I did in the second session to beat Mark. I want to win there and keep my run going."
Robertson revealed a new fitness regime has focused his mind on seeking to dominate the sport over the next decade. "I'm too lazy to get up and do it myself so I'm going to get a fitness trainer, drill sergeant, to come to my house four times a week to whip me into shape," added Robertson. "You look at the guys who are winning tournaments now - myself, Ding [Junhui], [Marco] Fu, Ronnie [O'Sullivan] - the slimmer guys on the tour. I used to do too much weight training years ago. You probably wouldn't see it on me but I probably had a bit too much muscle, so I've been doing no weight training at all, just cardio work and core strength, things like that.
"The more muscle I'm losing, the better I'm cueing. It's not a sport where you can put on bulk muscle. It's about the cueing and the stamina. I put on about five or six kilos of muscle four or five years ago and I noticed a difference in my cueing. The cue was on a different spot on the chest and it affected me a lot. Now I'm down to the size I want to be. It's a strange problem to have."
Robertson, 31, also paid tribute to his mother Alison and acknowledged the sacrifices she and the rest of his family made when he was embarking on a professional career.
The Australian famously relocated to Cambridge 10 years ago with just enough money to buy a waistcoat and begin entering events on the professional tour. He said of his mother's support: "She really is a fantastic mum; she hasn't done it easy raising myself and my brother. She's worked so hard, as well as her partner Chris, to help with my career. When I came to Cambridge they helped me so much, along with my father. Without their support I wouldn't be here."
His early financial worries are a thing of the past and with his latest winnings, Robertson plans to treat his mother. Her one previous trip to Britain to see her son play was to the Crucible in 2010 when he won the World Championship and, with her "lucky charm" status firmly established, Robertson joked he will have to keep her in the country until January's Masters.
Robertson had to battle back from 5-1 down against Selby, the world No.2 and a player noted for his safety play, and who had made the sport's 100th maximum break in his semi-final win over Ricky Walden the previous day. Back in January, Selby beat Robertson 10-6 in the Masters final. Will the tables be turned next month?
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