Selby driven by title ambition

Mark Selby might have won the Masters last month but the talented Leicester potter has only just begun his quest for titles.

The world number 11 wasted little time in dispensing with determined Dubliner Ken Doherty in their last 16 clash at this week’s Welsh Open yesterday.

And with a comfortable 5-2 victory he now locks horns with world champion John Higgins in this year’s quarter-finals at the Newport Centre today, a repeat of last season’s 888.com World Championship final.

“I can’t feel any better at the minute, my game’s in the best shape it can ever be off the back of the Masters,” revealed Selby.

“Ever since reaching the final of the World Championship last year, it gave me all the self-belief that I need.

“I proved to myself that I’m capable of going on and winning tournaments and competing with the best players in the world.

“I feel more relaxed and at home out there. Before I was only getting to a venue every other tournament, so I wasn’t getting a consistent chance to play at the venues.

“I’ve got the feel for it (playing at venues) a lot better, it’s just taking the chance when you get it.”

Amazingly Selby has yet to win a ranking event since he turned professional in 1999. His first season on the main tour was in 2001-02, so it has been seven years without that elusive ranking event win.

Last year he was beaten by Scot Higgins in the Crucible final – and in 2003 finished runner-up to Londoner David Gray in the Scottish Open final.

However, this season the 24-year-old reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship and Shanghai Masters. Before that he beat former world champions Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry to reach the semis of the 2002 China Open.

“I’ve still been knocking on the door, getting to the latter stages of tournaments, but not being able to progress for whatever reason,” added Selby.

“But I’m happy with my game at the moment. I’ll take each game as it comes and hopefully enjoy it. Hopefully another ranking tournament is just around the corner.

“There’s plenty of other people out there who would rather be in my position, so I know that if I don’t put the hard work in I could just be working in a factory, rather than doing the job I love travelling the world.”

Selby produced breaks 71, 66, 60, 40 and 114 to dispense with Doherty, but even at 4-1 ahead the Leicester City fan knew he still had a job on his hands to get over the winning line.

“I played well against Ken, I more or less carried on from the way I played at the Masters,” said Selby.

“I was scoring more or less every time I got in, I should have won the match 5-1, but every credit to Ken because he stuck in there.

“You never know, the match could have swung the other way, but I just managed to get over the line.

“He’s a great player, he’s very similar to Graeme Dott. You never know when you’ve won, but I knew before the start of the match it was going to be tough.”