Steve Davis plays down chances of winning world title

Date: 17 April-3 May 2010 Venue: The Crucible, Sheffield
Coverage: Live coverage each day on BBC Two, BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website (UK only), updates on BBC Radio 5 Live. Full TV schedule

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Win up there with the best - Davis

Steve Davis insists he is not thinking about winning the World Championship for a seventh time despite stunning defending champion John Higgins 13-11.

"I am not looking there," he told BBC Sport. "It is one round at a time, one frame at a time, one ball at a time."

The 52-year-old, the oldest player to reach the last eight since the late Eddie Charlton, then 53, in 1983, plays Australian Neil Robertson on Tuesday.

"It's just another match, that is the only way I can look at it," he added.

"Neil smashed me up here last year [10-2 in the first round]. I don't want to look any further.

Steve is an inspiration to people in a lot of sports, not just snooker Neil Robertson

"I have got a couple of days off then I am back again, and it is business as usual."

Nevertheless, Davis admitted he had a "great feeling of pride" after holding himself together in the crucial final moments, after Higgins had drawn level at 11-11.

"In one respect it is fantastic," he said. "But on the other hand, it is only the second round and there is a long way to go in the tournament. But for the time being, I will savour it."

The Davis-Robertson quarter-final will start at 1000 BST on Tuesday, 27 April, and conclude on Wednesday afternoon.

"Steve is a legend in sport in general, he is almost like those Olympians who go to four Olympics," said Robertson after sealing a remarkable comeback from 11-5 down to beat qualifier Martin Gould 13-12.

"What more can Steve do on and off the table? He is a great ambassador to our sport."

606: DEBATE Steve Davis in the World Championships quarter-finals - now that IS interesting richoho

Robertson insisted Davis's victory was "not that much of a surprise to me" and that he would not take victory for granted, despite hammering Davis 10-2 in the first round last year.

"He has come close to beating John [Higgins] before when he was the best player in the world [Higgins beat Davis 13-11 in the second round of the 2000 World Championship]," Robertson told BBC Sport.

"It is a pleasure to be competing with him and and great to see someone like Steve, who has achieved so much in the game, continue to put in the practice.

"It is fantastic to see him beat John. Some people say it is a young man's game but most of the top players are in their 30s and Steve is in his 50s. He is an inspiration to people in a lot of sports, not just snooker."

Davis revealed that an email suggestion to a website he runs giving advice to players had provided the focus for his technical tune-up leading into the tournament.

"A gentleman emailed me and said I was moving my head on the shot, and he was right," he explained.

"Sometimes you miss the obvious things and in the build-up all I've been doing is concentrating on keeping my head still.

"Under enough pressure other parts of your body move and perhaps your cue, and it's worked. It's made me a better player in practice and bit more solid in matches.

"Keeping my head still was my one thought in the closing stages."