Nathan Aspinall produced one of the most polished performances of the World Grand Prix so far to defeat Ryan Joyce and book his place in the semi-finals in Leicester. 'The Asp' was in imperious form and admitted he was relieved to finally put all facets of his game together on stage.
"Obviously over the moon, great performance from start to finish," Aspinall told Online Darts. "I played really, really well on Wednesday and battled on Monday, and I kind of said in my interview on Wednesday night, if I put it all together, I'm going to be very, very tough to beat. My weakest part of my game is my doubling, and I know if I hit doubles, I'm one of the best players in the world, and I said that in my interview on Wednesday night, and I could prove it there that I am one of the best players in the world."
Aspinall revealed he was chasing the one-match average set by Gian van Veen, and admitted the thought crossed his mind given Luke Littler's recent dominance of the record books. "Yeah, you know what I did? I walked off, and I knew I was playing well. I think it was under an 11 in the first set, walked back out, it was under a nine, no, sorry, when I walked off it was under a nine, and I spoke to Dean, and I said, 'What was his average?' and he didn't know off the top of his head, but he said, 'I think you're beating it.' So of course, you know, it's not often you can beat records, especially with Littler mopping up everything at the moment, but yeah, it was in the back of my mind, but you know, first and foremost, winning the game of darts, and I think the way that I composed myself at two-all to kick off the way that I did, to finish the match out like I did, very, very proud."
Reflecting on his recent struggles, Aspinall said he had been distracted by external factors but promised his fans he would refocus after his wedding. "I've literally had three days at home in six weeks. I've been playing a year or two; I think I should have won two out of the last three years or two, so I've missed my darts, but I know I'm playing well, and the people around me know I'm playing well. It's just a matter of time, and I'm a top-ten player, hands down, but you have to go on that stage; talk is cheap, and I think so far this week, I think I'm proving my worth, why I believe I am a top-ten player, and by the end of this week, hopefully I'll be even higher."
The Asp also opened up about a string of setbacks, including his car being broken into earlier in the week. "Yeah, obviously I've now got six windows back in my car, which is a bonus. After someone broke into my car, scumbags!" He also revealed he had been battling a virus since the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. "But yeah, obviously a lot of us have had it. Ross Smith has been ill; I don't think Humphries has been too clever, and Littler's been struggling. I've had it for probably about two and a half weeks, and today was the first day where I've actually completely felt fresh. I've kept food down today. I don't know what it is; maybe it's the strain of Covid. I don't know. I don't want to start anything, but I don't know what's going on. But no, I feel great, really looking forward to it. Now tomorrow my girls are definitely coming."
Aspinall admitted he got a boost from Luke Littler's exit at the hands of Woodhouse. "I got a bit of a buzz when Woodhouse beat Luke, because he's been knocking me out of all the majors. That's the thing. People think I'm not playing well or I've not had a good year. You look at the tournaments I've lost in, and I'm losing to the best player that's probably ever thrown a dart. And I've been close to him, so I know I'm playing really well. You need a bit of luck in this game. So many players go. I'm playing really well, but I'm not winning. And I always say, just keep going; it will eventually change. And hopefully this week it's changed. The draw opened up for me. Michael got beat, and Danny Noppert got beat. I didn't expect to play Joyce in the quarter-finals, I'm honest with you. I didn't expect to play Woodhouse in round two. Draw's open; I remember the first time at the Worlds, and I made it all the way to the semi-final. The draw's open, but you have to take that opportunity to push yourself."
Looking ahead to his semi-final, Aspinall added: "Obviously I'm playing Johnny or Gezzy in the next game. Both are fantastic dart players, but they've seen that performance. I wouldn't say they're a bit worried, but they know how to step up. It's been a breath of fresh air this week. I'm dead happy that my game's in a good place, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow already."
