Shaun Murphy is chasing a twin-target — to win the World championship again, and be the World No. 1 — and says he is really playing well and is confident of realising these goals.
“I feel I have another 10 years to have a go to achieve these goals,” he says, with a big smile.
“Yes, it is all about winning titles, ultimately, and I look at this on-going Indian Open (World-ranking tournament) as a huge event,” says the 35-year-old Englishman.
The 2005 World champion says it is always a nice feeling to be a World champion, especially when you read out the names of some of the greats of the sport.
“The competition is so intense that you have to fight for every win. No one has a God-given right to win. Just because you are Shaun, it doesn’t mean you have a right to win. You have to earn the title the hard way,” he said.
“If you remember, Anthony Hamilton won a ranking tournament after being in the circuit for 26 long years.
“So, I feel it is a great honour to read my name in the list of World champions. Well, even if I don’t win another title, I will still be a happy man for I love snooker and nothing else,” he says.
Shaun says that the Indians are essentially touch-artists on the green baize, unlike many other internationals who play the power game hitting the cue ball really hard.
“The Indians just caress the balls around so delicately and it is a different kind of challenging playing them,” says Murphy.
Murphy says serious questions will crop up if cue sports is not included in the Olympics, considering some of the disciplines already there.
Murphy adds that the Indian Open is one of the best organised events in the circuit, but poses a serious risk of not having a ‘home’ as it keeps moving from one city to the other.
“This is unlike other countries, where the major Opens are held in one city. It might just miss the unique identity factor.”