'He's turned into a winning machine' - Neil Robertson 'rightly' World Championship favourite says Jimmy White

Neil Robertson has «turned into a winning machine» and is now rightly the favourite to triumph at the World Championship, according to Eurosport's Jimmy White. The Thunder from Down Under overcame Hugill 10-5 in their opener in Sheffield, living up to his tag as the tournament favourite in the process of reaching the second round. Ad/> Robertson roared back from 3-1 down in emphatic fashion as he reeled off the next eight frames to secure his place in the next round much more comfortably than it looked likely to be early on.

/> World Championship'He's turned into a winning machine' — Robertson 'rightly favourite' says WhiteAN HOUR AGO He registered a string of stunning breaks in that eight-frame run, including 107, 119 and 132 in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames respectively. The Australian had assumed a 6-3 overnight lead from Monday heading into Tuesday’s session. Robertson showed his class by concluding the match with a knock of 110 to secure his 58th ton of the season – more than anyone else — and White believes he has taken his game to a new level this year.

«On form, rightly so he is the favourite,» White said in the Eurosport studio in Sheffield after the match. «He has turned himself into a winning machine. I like the way he has said that he has to adapt if things are not going right for him, whereas in previous times he has not adapted.

He has let the table get to him. »It is a very small space for him and he likes to walk into the shot. He is the favourite for the tournament, but he has been the favourite in my mind for the last three years coming into the tournament on form.