Aaron Hill is looking for silverware at the British Open this week, hoping to replicate his coach and mentor by winning the title.
The 24-year-old is closing in on the world’s top 32 and wants to make further strides up the rankings this week in Cheltenham.
The Irishman is into the last 16 where he takes on Fan Zhengyi for a place in the quarter-finals, which would be Hill’s fourth trip to the last eight of a ranking event, but he is yet to go further.
He’s not been happy with his performances so far at the British Open, but is unfazed, knowing that a run to a title is almost certain to include under-par displays.
‘Not great to be honest, my form hasn’t been great at all this week, but I’m still in the tournament, that’s all that matters,’ Hill told Metro after a 4-2 win over Wang Xinbo in the last 32.
‘I’m at the stage now where I want to win tournaments.
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‘It’s going to be hard to play well every round, I can guarantee that Judd [Trump], Ronnie [O’Sullivan], [Mark] Selby, will say they struggled in some games on the way to a win. I got to four, that’s all that matters.’
Hill was on course for a maximum in the second frame against Wang, missing on 72, so there was some good stuff, which he is confident he can unleash soon enough.
‘It’s in there somewhere, my practice was really good leading up to this, playing really well,’ he said. ‘I felt really good, but for some reason my form hasn’t been great this week.
‘But I can turn it on, it’s in there somewhere, so it’s going to come out at some stage. Hopefully it’s later in the tournament.’
Hill fancies becoming the second Irishman to win the British Open after his coach Fergal O’Brien who did so in 1999, beating the likes of John Higgins and Peter Ebdon before Anthony Hamilton in the final.
‘It’s funny because when I play in this we chat about his memories of winning it,’ Hill said of the retired former top 16 pro.
‘Imagine the double! You never know.’
The Cork cueist has had some good news off the table this summer, getting engaged to fiancé Katelin, with Hill joking: ‘She’s not going anywhere, so I said, why not?
‘I’ve been with her since I’m 17, together a long time, by my side the whole time. There’s not a lot of women who would put up with what we do, away all time.
‘We try to get away whenever we can, when there’s a break in the calendar. She’s brilliant and I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.’
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