BASILDON’S Zak Surety is leaving the World Snooker Championships with his head held high - despite suffering a first round defeat to Ding Junhui.
Surety set a new record for the most centuries by a Crucible debutant after scoring four breaks of more than 100.
And Surety was pleased with how he recovered from a slow start.
“It’s a shame I gave Ding such a big head start because I felt brilliant out there today,” Surety told the World Snooker website.
“It’s nice to go away with the centuries record but it would have been nicer to win the match.
“I was nervous early on and couldn’t settle.
“I am the biggest snooker nerd so I have heard all the stories of how players feel when they first come here.
“I was waiting for the nerves myself, once I started playing it felt as if the arena was getting smaller and everything was on top of me.”
But Surety was soon able to get to grips with things.
“I made a century to go 6-3 and I felt relaxed last night, then today I settled in straight away,” said Surety.
“At 8-7 I potted a long red but didn’t get position then played a bad safety and left Ding a chance.
“That was my biggest mistake because it wasn’t a hard shot.
“But I can walk away now with my head held high and desperate to get back here.
"At 4-0 down I was wondering if I really belong because I couldn’t pot two balls in a row.”
Junhui eventually had to dig deep to make it through.
And the world number 10 was relieved to end his run of four successive first round defeats.
“There was big pressure when Zak made the centuries, he was winning the frame every time he got a chance,” said Ding.
“I didn’t pot a ball for a long time but I tried to focus on my game and then scored when I got chances.
"I will try my best in the second round, I can be more relaxed now because in the last few years I have lost in the first round.”
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