Chatteris snooker star Joe Perry ready to bounce back into snooker’s elite after return to form
REJUVENATED Chatteris potter Joe Perry has said he feels “like his old self again” as he prepares to try and reclaim his spot amongst snooker’s elite.
Perry, who is currently ranked 28th in the world, has slipped down the rankings after a miserable run of form stretching back to his narrow defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2008/09 Masters.
But the 36 year-old put in a confident showing at the Euro Players Tour Championship Five in Germany this week, beating Mark Selby on his way to reaching the last 16.
That success was reinforced with a stunning 145 break on the way to an exhibition match victory over world number one Neil Robertson at the Cambridge snooker club where the pair practice.
Perry, who slipped out of the top 16 last year, said: “It all happened very suddenly. I was playing my best snooker and then suddenly it went wrong.
“I was talked about as a possible for winner for every event I entered and then suddenly I just lost my form.
“For the first time in my life it felt like a chore to go and practice. Now I look forward to going to the club again.
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“It’s just a case of sticking in there and playing through it. I can just tell in practice that it’s coming back and in the last few weeks I have really started to feel like my old self again. If I play like that all season I will be very happy.”
Perry, nicknamed the ‘Fen Potter’, will return to action this weekend in the next event of the Euro Players Tour Championship in Prague. He will then begin preparations for the qualifying rounds of the UK Championships.
“I have never really been one for chirping on about being in the top 16,” he said. “If I’m in there it’s better but I just want to keep playing snooker. My ultimate aim is still to win a major ranking event.
“I’m looking to have a good run in the UK Championships and to start climbing the rankings again. I have got my confidence back and now it’s just a case of biding my time and waiting for the wins.”
