Fenland's Joe Perry says monotony of Milton Keynes left him 'flat' in Scottish Open
Joe Perry admits the monotony of Milton Keynes made it impossible to motivate himself for the Scottish Open.
The Chatteris player reached the quarter-finals of the prestigious UK Championship last week but was unable to follow it up at the third Home Nations event of the season.
Perry, the world No.18, suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat against 19-year-old Jackson Page as his inconsistent start to the season continued at the Marshall Arena.
All matches are held behind closed doors at the venue and Perry, who usually relishes the York Barbican and Glasgow baize, says playing in Buckinghamshire makes enthusiasm hard to muster.
Asked if he found it difficult to get himself up for the tournament, the 46-year-old said: “It was.
“That’s down to me, and I can’t blame anyone for that – I’ve said that to my family since I’ve been back that I found it very difficult.
“In different circumstances, if I’d lost a big match in York on Friday night and had to get the train up to Glasgow on Sunday, it would have been completely different and would have felt like a completely different tournament.
“I would have got myself up for it a bit more. But the fact I lost on that table Friday night, came home, didn’t play for a couple of days and then travelled there and played on exactly the same table in a completely different tournament, meant I was flat. There’s no getting away from it.
“There’s no one to blame but myself, and it’s up for me to get myself up for matches.
“[That match] was pretty much how it’s going in general – some good frames followed by some loose ones.
“It’s always tough to lose a real close one at the end, but I had my chances and I didn’t take them, so can’t really complain.”
Perry beat Alex Borg, Igor Figueiredo, Joe O’Connor and Jamie Jones as he navigated his way to a seventh UK Championship quarter-final last week.
The Cambridgeshire player knocked in breaks of 71 and 54 against Page at the Scottish Open and while the Welsh player made no visits of note in reply, had enough to get over the line.
Next up for Perry is this month’s World Grand Prix, an event attended by the top 32 players on the world’s one-year ranking list.
Perry is the current No.11 but admits he’s ready for a well-earned break when the final event of the calendar year comes to an end.
“I’m looking forward to it, mainly because it’s the last one of the year!” he added.
“Once it’s done, I’ll put my cue away and really try and get away from snooker completely for ten days or two weeks.
“I can have a good bit of time off and as hard as I’ll be trying next week, I’m quite excited it’s the last one for a little while.”
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