Masters 2021 news - Neil Robertson full of praise for Yan Bingtao after shock first-round loss

Neil Robertson said he couldn't "praise Yan Bingtao highly enough” after his shock defeat to the 20-year-old at the Masters and believes he is more focused than most other young players.

Bingtao caused a huge upset as he came from 3-1 and 5-3 down to beat world No 2 Robertson in the first round.

Playing in the Masters for the first time he didn’t look phased by the occasion, even in the final-frame decider as he skilfully moved balls safe to dent Robertson’s chances of winning.

“He’s probably the only 20-year-old who could compete with me in the safety department,” Robertson told Eurosport.

“A lot of the other players make it easy for you because they try and play like Ronnie [O’Sullivan] does or Judd [Trump] does and that suits me down to a tee.

“Yan is 20 but he seems to have the experience of someone who is 40. I can’t praise him highly enough, he has all the attributes, the hunger and determination, to try and win these events. That’s really good to see from a young player.

“A lot of them are on social media non-stop and they care more about how they look coming out of a swimming pool than they do on a snooker table. You have to credit the guys that really want to make things happen in their career.”

Reflecting on his own performance, Robertson acknowledged he may have been a bit rusty after taking time off over Christmas to go to Norway, but says he has no regrets over his preparation.

“I wasn’t great, that’s probably to be expected from a lot of players having three weeks off over Christmas, and I was fully prepared coming here that I maybe wouldn’t play that well.

“I’ve had a fantastic season so far and if I was to come here and get beat I wouldn’t change the preparation. You have to live your life and Christmas in Norway is very important for Mille [Robertson’s fiancée, Mille Fjelldal] and the kids. I don’t regret going out there for that.”