Having brilliantly defeated Jimmy White in the third qualifying round on Wednesday, Michael Holt spoke to thisisnottingham.co.uk about his comeback from 3-0 down and his ambitions for the future:
“It was a good performance because I didn’t do anything wrong to go 3-0 down. Jimmy just played really well,” Holt said.
“In the past I would have crumbled at 3-0. I would have got annoyed with myself but I can’t afford to do that now. I just dug in there and produced some form.”
“It’s important to get to the venue but I want to do more than that. I want to get to semi-finals and finals,” said Holt, who has reached three ranking event quarter-finals in his career.
“I just have to keep working hard and believing in myself because I think I’m good enough.”
Now that he has won his final qualifying match today against Michael Judge, he has given himself the chance to prove just that in Glasgow next month. Michael had this to after after the match:
“I didn’t think about the last time we played. It didn’t make me any more motivated to win.
“Anyway, he’s a nice guy. The referee called a miss in the last frame that shouldn’t have been and he didn’t take it, which is a very sporting thing to do when you’re 4-2 down.”
“It’s horrible when tournaments are on the TV and you’re not in them,” he said. “You don’t feel part of the game. You don’t feel like a professional.
“I’ve started well this season. My attitude has been good and the matches I’ve lost have been because the other guy has played well. I’m enjoying my snooker, which I haven’t done for a while.”
Check back here tomorrow afternoon to see who he will meet in the last 32 following the random draw at noon.