"I’m not quite feeling myself” – Danny Noppert "hurt" by one-sided World Matchplay defeat to Rob Cross

For Danny Noppert, his World Matchplay ended on Monday evening in the first round. The Dutchman was no match in Blackpool for a dominant Rob Cross and suffered a heavy defeat: 10-3. Afterwards, Noppert made no attempt to hide his disappointment. The Freeze openly admitted he was never in the match and even called it a performance that “needs a lot of fixing.”

Noppert started his tie against the former world champion with confidence, but saw Cross seize full control early on. After an early break, the Dutchman quickly trailed 5-0, and a comeback never really looked on. “After that first break and going 5-0 down, you’re basically chasing the game the whole way,” Noppert reflected to Viaplay. “Beyond that, there’s not much more I can say.”

A key turning point came early in the contest. In the third leg, Noppert had multiple chances to hold throw, but five missed doubles proved extremely costly. He didn’t want to put too much emphasis on that afterwards, though. “If you look at the whole match, it just wasn’t there. I just have to shake Rob’s hand. He fully deserved the win.”

Even as the gap kept widening, Noppert said he kept searching for a way back into the match. Giving up never crossed his mind. “Of course it’s very frustrating, but I always keep fighting. I always keep believing. You keep trying to find a moment where you rediscover yourself.” That moment didn’t come this time. “Unfortunately it just didn’t happen at all. I was never in it. Rob played very well and you have to accept he was the better player.”

After the match, Noppert was strikingly candid about his current form. The Dutchman admitted he hasn’t been feeling great on the oche lately, without looking for excuses. “Unfortunately I have to say that right now I’m not quite feeling myself.”

Even so, the former UK Open champion refuses to throw in the towel. Despite the disappointing exit, he keeps looking ahead and tries to take positives from every match. “I always look to the future in a positive way. The schedule is always incredibly busy.”

That’s precisely why he doesn’t want to dwell on this defeat for too long. “This week it just didn’t happen. Of course you want to show your best game at the World Matchplay, but that didn’t work out.”

That doesn’t change his mindset. “Every tournament matters to me and every tournament is a joy to play.”

Perhaps the biggest sore point for Noppert is that he put in a lot of work to arrive well prepared. According to the Dutchman, effort isn’t the issue, but it simply isn’t clicking at the key moments. “I’m absolutely gutted about this. It really hurts a lot.”

He searched for the right words to describe how he felt and came to a telling conclusion. “It needs a lot of fixing, let’s put it that way.”

That only adds to the frustration. “I’ve trained a lot recently, but unfortunately it’s not paying off at the moment. It just isn’t coming out. That’s incredibly disappointing and very frustrating.”

After his early exit, Noppert’s tournament is over, but that doesn’t mean he can head straight on holiday. First up is an exhibition tournament in Canada. “I’ve got a small demo in Canada first.”

Then it’s finally time to recharge the batteries. “And after that I’m off to Gran Canaria with my family.” When it was jokingly suggested that Canada might also be a fine holiday destination, Noppert managed a smile despite the disappointment. “It certainly is. Maybe next year.”