Ruthless Robertson lands title

Australian Neil Robertson beats Ding Junhui of China 9-4 to capture his second Grand Prix title in Glasgow.

Australian Neil Robertson beat Ding Junhui of China 9-4 to capture his second Grand Prix title in Glasgow on Sunday and become only the seventh player to win the tournament more than once in its 25-year history. The 26-year-old won the last five frames to claim his fourth ranking event title. The first ranking event final between two non-British players for nearly a quarter of a century saw Robertson and Ding share the first eight frames following some devastating break building.

But afterwards safety ruled the day and, while Ding did not always enjoy a good run of the balls, there was no denying that Robertson came out on top. The turning point came in the ninth frame in which Ding missed two chances to pot the brown and Robertson came in to regain the lead. The next three frames were also tight affairs but with a four-frame cushion and Ding's game falling apart, Robertson brought the final to an end with a break of 89. Earlier he had runs of 104, 108 and 114, with Ding recording a 118.

Robertson is now up to third in the provisional rankings, behind John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan, and believes that the top spot is not out of reach. "John is a long way ahead but I will keep practising hard and give it a go," said Robertson. "A lot of people say that it's better to be World Champion, but to be World No 1 is an unbelievable achievement and proves that you've been the most consistent player over two years.

"I've won the Grand Prix twice now, and I'd like to win either the UK, Masters or World Championship to put myself up there as a top player." Ding said: "The ninth frame was important, I missed the brown with the rest. I was still trying hard but Neil didn't miss much and his safety was good." [e-mail]