CHELMSFORD’S Ali Carter admitted he is suffering the fallout from his cancer scare earlier this year after being knocked out of the UK Snooker Championship.

Carter, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer this summer before receiving the all-clear, was beaten 6-3 by Scot Graeme Dott at the Barbican Centre in York last week.

The 34-year-old was devastated with the way he performed in the third-round clash and conceded a turbulent year has left him short of confidence on the big stage.

And, with the rigours of the modern game taking their toll at the UK Championship, Carter was reduced to an error-strewn display in the third round in York.

“I think with what has happened to me over the summer it has knocked my confidence quite a lot,” he said.

“When it comes down to the big stage, under pressure, I can’t produce it at the moment. It is difficult to see where I am going to get that back from at the moment, which is quite difficult.

“I’ve just got to keep punching and see what happens.

“I don’t really enjoy the travelling. I enjoy playing in the UK where we always used to play but obviously times are changing and we’ve just got to deal with that.

“It was a terrible performance – very disappointing to come all the way here and play as bad as that.”

Both Carter and Dott traded blows in the early stages, but it was the Scot who was able to pull away, winning the fifth, sixth and seventh frames to take control.

And Carter is concerned with the way he struggled to motivate himself in front of the crowd and television cameras at the Barbican Centre in York.

“Graeme is a solid player – you know what you are going to get – but I played like five to ten per cent of what I can play,” he added.

“You want to dig in and try hard but there’s nothing there – there’s no fuel in the tank, so to speak. I don’t know why that is but it’s just the way it feels at the moment.

“I had to try and it sounds stupid – and even when I did that, I still didn’t feel like I wanted to try. To play in the second biggest tournament and feel like that out there is worrying.

“I’ve just got to take a step back and take stock and think to myself I’m lucky to be here and to be playing.”

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