Ricky Walden admits he simply failed to settle after crashing out of the World Snooker Championship at the first hurdle in Sheffield.
The Chester potter never reached his fluent best as he went down 10-8 to 2006 world champion Graeme Dott in a tense encounter at the Crucible Theatre.
Dott held a narrow 5-4 advantage coming into Sunday afternoon’s session and although he extended that with a run of 49, Walden reeled off three frames on the spin, including a majestic 104 break, to lead 7-6.
The Scot is famed for his fighting qualities however and contributions of 78 and 65 helped him win four of the next five to seal a narrow triumph.
And while Walden knew he would be in for the fight of his life as soon as the draw was released, the 32-year-old concedes he can have no complaints with the defeat.
“It was a really tough game out there for me – it was a very close game in the end but Graeme deserved to win,” explained Walden.
“It was a tough draw, he’s a former world champion but I wasn’t good enough throughout the match.
“I never really felt in control and I was a bit patchy throughout despite playing well at times.
“I struggled and never got a foothold in the game when it was needed. I let Graeme off quite a lot of frames and that cost me in the end.”
Dott, who has played in three World Championship finals in his career, had to win three best-of-19 encounters to qualify for the main draw but that match-sharpness appeared to help him overcome the 12-place ranking gap.
And with his pedigree at the Crucible, Walden believes the world No.19 can make some serious noise at this year’s event.
“I knew he was going to give me a fight – he’s a great player who has won here before but that’s the way it goes,” added Walden.
“He’s someone who could definitely go further in this tournament – he has won it before and he’s got more of an edge than most people because they haven’t won it.
“He’s a dangerous player and his game is in decent shape. I didn’t deal with certain points throughout that match very well.”
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