01/10/2023 FrankReport
Robert, currently ranked 14th in the world and with two ranking tournament titles. "He's been very lazy since the start of the season, and when he comes to the Masters, he doesn't even know what kind of mindset he should have for such an important event," Milkins told Sports Life on the eve of the first round of the Masters, adding that Milkins will face Selby in the first round of the Masters (21:00 on January 10).
The 47-year-old, who has a whopping 29-year career, actually didn't really make a big leap forward in his career until 2022, and made a breakthrough in ranking results, after winning the Gibraltar Open in March 2022, Milkins became more and more out of control, and he won the 2023 Welsh Open with galloping power, and took advantage of the extra prize of the £150,000 European Series that season (see picture below). It is enough to make Milkins go from the past to the current confidence to be among the top 16 in the world.
I don't seem to have found the motivation to get back on my feet," Milkins said, "and I even feel like my own season hasn't started yet. I'm a bit lazy, so I'm determined to try to change my current 2023 2024 season, which I'm already a bit inactive in, and I'll admit that I'm not in great shape at the moment, my self-confidence is low", Milkins did not have a big breakthrough in that season, his best result that season was only the top 8 of the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
Pictured: Milkins won the Gibraltar Open in March 2022 to claim his first career ranking title, having turned professional in 1995.
Milkins blames his current mediocre form on not having a training partner at the moment, and Milkins, who lives in Gloucestershire, England, currently has to practice alone for long periods of time: "I used to practice with Lisowski a lot, but now I don't have anyone to practice with, unlike when you play in some big tournaments like the World Championships and the British Championships, there are always a lot of players who practice with you and them."
Milkins also blames his current state of general form on the negative consequences of his lack of self-discipline: "I lack self-discipline, it's normal to spend half an hour chatting, and it's really not appropriate for me to use my time wisely and just think about playing."
But I'm a realist and I know that if a player is not motivated and is always hovering in a relatively low position, it will be very difficult to continue his career, and I spoke to Bingham recently about this, and he suggested that I need to try to maintain my high ranking at the end of each season, but I can't compare to him, who won the World Championship (in 2015)."
Pictured: Milkins lost 7-13 to Si Jiahui in the second round of the 2023 World Championships.
So I need to get into the game quickly with a fast run", Milkins added: "There's nothing better than playing in front of the crowd and getting success, at least I have to try to try again, and I have to learn from players like O'Sullivan, Selby and Trump, because they never really seem to care about what other people say about them, in fact, no matter what, just be able to prove themselves."