Following his excellent return to the main tour this season which has seen him climb to 54th in the rankings, Malta’s Tony Drago now has his sights on a return to the top 32 for the first time since 2004/5…
Tony told the Times Of Malta:
“I feel like I have rediscovered my love for the game,”
“Up to a year ago, I was on the verge of quitting snooker as I had lost my motivation. But, fortunately, I had great people around me who inspired me to put my game back on track. I can’t find enough words to thank people like Jimmy White and Joe Caruana Curran, the MBSA president… both were influential in my decision to return.
“This season ranks among the best in my 25 years as a professional.
“But this is by no means a finishing point for me. Winning so many matches has filled me with confidence and now I’m determined to get back among the top 32.”
“I have enjoyed playing pool lately but now my main focus is to move a step further in my snooker career,”
“My immediate plans are to continue training hard and reach the first major tournament of the new season in June in perfect shape. This year, I will be playing in Pro Challenge tournaments and that should keep me going. Now, I’m in the top 64 so I will have less rounds to play to reach the final stages of a ranking event.”
Following the season he had which saw him win 17 matches on the main tour, Tony is right to be confident and it will be interesting to see whether he can maintain this form next season. On the face of it there is no reason why he should not continue to win matches as now inside the top 64 he will be facing the lowest ranked players in his first match once again, matches that he did not lose this season and with the right draws he will fancy his chances of going from there to qualify for a few venues.
Drago back in the top 32 – who would have imagined that being a realistic aim a year ago?