Ross Smith kicked off his Austrian Darts Open campaign with a convincing 6-3 victory over the in-form Niels Zonneveld earlier this afternoon, averaging over 102 in what he described as a statement performance. Speaking to DartsNews after the match, Smith admitted: 'Really happy with the performance. Everyone’s always a bit nervy in those first-round matches, but I knew Niels had been playing really well lately, so I felt like I needed to make a bit of a statement against him. Thankfully, it all worked out well and I played well today.'
Despite the win, Smith finds himself in a peculiar predicament regarding the World Matchplay. Sitting on the cusp of the top 16, he faces a dilemma: either hope he drops out to avoid facing Luke Littler in the second round, or risk drawing a top 16 seed in the first round anyway. 'Not really. It’s hit or miss, isn’t it? If I go in at number 16 and win my first game, I’ve probably got Luke Littler next. But then if you qualify through the ProTour side and look at the Top 16 seeds, they’re all amazing players as well,' Smith explained. 'To be honest, no matter which side you’re on, everyone is dangerous. I don’t really worry too much about who I’m playing. I’ve said it many times, I just concentrate on my own game because I can’t control what my opponent does. So yeah, it’s all about focusing on me.'
Reflecting on his 2026 season so far, which includes a floor title and a runner-up finish in Sindelfingen, Smith admitted he is not fully satisfied. '2026 has been alright. It’s been a bit of a strange run really because I didn’t actually think I played that well in Sindelfingen, but that’s what happens sometimes, you grind games out. At the same time, you can lose matches despite playing amazingly well. But overall, I feel like my game is in a really good place at the moment. I felt like I played well there today, so now it’s about cracking on and continuing to work hard.'
Looking ahead, Smith joked about his preparations for Nathan Aspinall's stag do, revealing he is trying to shed some pounds like Chris Dobey. 'Well, I’m trying to lose a bit of weight like Chris Dobey. I think I’ve lost about a pound — and that’s just by not looking at burgers! But no, I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t believe I’m doing an interview about Nathan Aspinall’s stag do instead of darts, Jesus Christ! But yeah, we’re all looking forward to it. We’ll have a good laugh and it should be a good trip.'
On his recent final loss to Gerwyn Price (8-6), Smith expressed disappointment but remains determined. 'Very disappointed. I wasn’t proud of it — far from it. Four finals now without getting over the line isn’t good enough. At some point, you’ve got to win one. But it is what it is. I can’t change what’s happened. I feel like in the three finals before that, I probably could have won them as well. No disrespect to the opponents because they’d probably say the same thing. But we move on. You can’t change the past, only the future.' He added: 'Don’t do it again! It’s pretty simple really. But yeah, you do try and learn. Like I said before, you can’t control what the other player does and sometimes it’s just not meant to be. It’s also a very tiring day when you make a final. It’s long and it can take a lot out of you. Maybe there are little things you can improve, like boosting your energy levels a bit more, but sometimes you can overthink it. Sometimes you’ve just got to get on with it, enjoy it and accept that it either goes for you or it doesn’t. So I’m looking forward to this weekend.'
