The Outlaw and The Open: An Exclusive Interview with Joe Swail

In the aftermath of a glorious ranking final showcase, Joe Swail reflects on the highs and lows of his blistering play in the Welsh Open.

First off, congrats on making it to the final. How did you feel when you knew you had made it through?
To be honest, I didn’t really expect too much before I went over because I haven’t had a good year this year. I’ve been a bit low on confidence; I’ve only just won a match here and there. I’ve had a very tough run. I was taking it one match at a time and all of a sudden, the confidence came back and things started to go really well for me. I took my chances whenever they came and it was great to get into the final.

What level of preparation did you undertake for the Open?
I’ve been putting the work in all year but then I lost in the opening round in the first four tournaments of the year – so, it doesn’t guarantee you success. I always knew that sooner or later the door would open and I would get my chance and I’m lucky enough it happened for me at the Welsh Open. I’m glad that the hard work I had been putting in came out on that particular week.

How did you mentally prepare yourself?
I’ve been around long enough to know how to prepare for a tournament. Whenever you win a match in a tournament – it’s great, you feel ecstatic. But, then you’ve got to come down again and focus on the next match, which can be very mentally draining. So, that’s where your experience comes into it and that’s where you learn how to deal with that. That explains why a lot of the young players who come into the matches, don’t always do well right away. Lucky enough, I have the experience behind me to deal with it.

Joe, you started off the tournament in great fashion – can you talk me through the high points of the whole experience?
The high point was actually being there! I have been a pro for eighteen years and never got to a ranking final; I had lost the previous ten – you can imagine how delighted I was when I actually did get through! When I got through, I thought, this is what it is all about - It was a lovely feeling. I had a lot of support from the audience, especially the final session, there was a bit of a razzmatazz entrance – that was very special. Its something that I will always remember, it was definitely the best week of my life – even though, the outcome wasn’t what I wanted in the end.

How did you stay focused under such pressure?
You are under a lot of pressure but, again, experience comes into that. Whenever you are having a tough time out there, you try to focus on positive things rather than negative things and that can be very hard to do. You look forward to your next chance and focus yourself that way.

What positive things would you focus on Joe?
For instance, when I was 5-1 up on Neil Robinson and he came up on the next three games to make it 5-4 – I just needed one more frame. So, you can imagine how much pressure I was under, trying to get into my first final and yet, one of the best (probably, top three in the world) is throwing everything at you to come back. I had to remind myself that I didn’t make any silly mistakes – even though the score line is 5-1 and then, all of a sudden, it’s 5-4. I had to remain positive and remind myself that I played well enough when I got the chance.

Can you talk me through your low points?
I don’t think there was very many, to be honest! I was dominating the final and my match play was very good. You could say I let it slip, but, to be fair to Ali Carter – he played absolutely tremendous to come back and beat me.

Joe, it did look like you were going to win at one stage. Where you thinking the same?
No, I wouldn’t get that far ahead of myself! I played it very cool and you know, I still had four more frames to go so, no, I wasn’t thinking that. But, there was a part of me thinking; am I really that close to winning this? But, I wouldn’t get too far ahead of myself.

How do you think Carter managed to pull ahead?
I think the fact that he had been there before gave him an advantage. Also, he is a top quality player who got to the final of the World Championship last year. He is very familiar in those situations; whereas, I am not, you know? He did look very comfortable in the final session.

You had great support from your fans here in Northern Ireland and further afield Joe – is there anything you would like to say to your supporters?
It’s great to know you have all that support! Not only in the UK and in Ireland but all over Europe as well and countries where snooker isn’t even that popular. It’s nice to be able to reward them with a good performance like last week and I hope they keep up the good support!

What does the rest of 2009 and the future in general hold for Joe Swail?
There are only two more tournaments left in the calendar year. This has given me confidence now going into the China Open and also the World Championships which is the most important one. It’s given me a lot of confidence because, in my eyes, if you can beat Mark Allen, Neil Robinson and Steve Maguire (who are in amongst the top five in the world) - if you can beat those three in one particular tournament then, there’s no reason why you can’t beat anybody! Having said that, I’ve still got to put the work in and hopefully get through at Sheffield for the World Championship. That would be the pinnacle of the year so, hopefully, I will finish off with a good one there.

When can we expect to see you up there with Denis Taylor, another champ for Northern Ireland?
Well, anything can happen. The standard is very high and it is a very, very fine line. People say, it is all Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins but, you look at all the tournaments this year, there is not one person who has won more than one tournament. It’s all spread out and that’s good for the game. Anything can happen. I’ve had a good run in the World Championship before …you never know what’s round the corner.

What’s coming up next then?
I have a lot of exhibitions at the minute but the main upcoming challenge is to qualify for the World Championships on 10 March. It takes place in Sheffield and that’s the most important focus for the year. So, hopefully I’ll get through and that will set me up for the rest of the year.