NEIL ROBERTSON said he would love to defend the UK Championship and dedicate the victory to cricketer Phillip Hughes.

The Australian took a bat with him into the York Barbican arena for his second round match with Kyren Wilson to pay tribute to the 25-year-old, who tragically lost his life on Thursday after being struck by a ball.

Robertson said he had never met Hughes but, like many Australians, has been shocked and upset by the Test star’s untimely death.

Placing the bat by his chair, propped up against the arena wall, the 32-year-old used the symbol as motivation as he fought back from 5-4 behind to stay in the competition with a 6-5 victory.

Robertson said: “I noticed a lot of other Australian sportsmen doing it over the weekend and, obviously, I wouldn’t have had a chance to do that in my first match.

“It was nice to be able to pay tribute to Phil Hughes and it was a nice touch for all Australian sportsmen who did that - and for me to show my respect to him and his family.

“I guess it made me a bit more motivated to stick in there and try and get the win today.”

Asked if he looked at the bat during the match, when he was fighting to remain in the tournament, Robertson added: “Every time I was walking back to my chair, and I was struggling, I was trying to motivate myself and it certainly did help.

“Especially in the last two frames. I really dug in. It was probably the best I have dug in, where I have had to win a match, since the final of the Wuxi Classic when I was 9-8 down to Joe Perry.

“I did place it there, to make sure it was always in my eye and every time I walked back to my chair or after every frame, just to try and motivate myself.”

On whether he dedicated the win to Hughes and his family, Robertson said: “Of course, but I would love to win the tournament to do that.”

While the triple crown winner was pleased with the resolute way he refused to be beaten, he was less impressed with his overall performance.

He also revealed it was the first time in his career he had started a match without any practice, having been unable to use a table at the venue because “the BBC were in there”.

He said: “I certainly made it very tough for myself. It still goes down as one of my worst ever BBC performances but, luckily enough, I have won.

“The first couple of rounds - it can be a bit difficult to motivate yourself, to get up for the matches, and sometimes, when everything doesn’t fall into place, it can be hard.

“I just made unnecessary errors. My safety was absolutely awful. It’s funny how, with great players in any kind of sport, once you go down - you are so close to defeat - you produce your moments of the match. I certainly did that from 30-odd down at 5-4 down.”

Wilson, who had a chance to take the match in the tenth frame but ran out of position in the colours, said: “It is nice that I pushed him all the way to 6-5 but, at 5-4, you have to take the chance. If you don’t, you get punished.

“It was one visit in the decider and it was not good enough. I wasn’t nervous at all - from 5-4 up - I think I potted a lot of good balls under pressure.

“It is nice to be able to compete with the top players, at the top level on the BBC. There are a lot of positives to take. I’ve not had a great season and this could be my springboard to go on and achieve better things now.”