Neil Robertson will take inspiration from Roger Federer's bludgeoning of vulnerable prey as he sets out in defence of his Coral UK Championship title in York.

The mere hour that it took Federer to annihilate Andy Murray 6-0 6-1 at the recent ATP World Tour Finals in London was all it took to show Robertson, a mesmerised spectator at the O2 Arena, just what his snooker game has recently been lacking.

Snooker's final major of the year begins on Tuesday, and Robertson has warned he will be swift to move in for the kill against rivals at the Barbican Centre.

It is where 12 months ago he became the eighth player to complete a career Triple Crown of snooker's three most prestigious titles, adding the UK to his previous World Championship and Masters triumphs.

The sight of Federer in relentless full flow against Murray reminded Robertson that slacking off once ahead should never be an option.

"He's been there done it and he's still at the top of the game at 33. You could just sense his frustration against Murray that he didn't win 6-0 6-0," Robertson said.

"I really admire that kind of ruthlessness. It doesn't matter how well he gets on with Murray off the court, once he gets out there he's really trying to crush his opponent, and it's something I really enjoyed watching for sure. That's how I need to be."

Australian Robertson, 32, surrendered last-32 matches to Joe Swail and Michael White at the recent big-money International Championship and Shanghai Masters, despite controlling the early stages each time.

"If I'd watched Federer play that match before the two events where I lost quite early, I probably wouldn't have lost those matches," Robertson, who starts against Joe O'Connor on Thursday, told Press Association Sport.

"It would have been fresh in my memory to push on and finish your opponent off as early as possible.

"I did that very well in York last year, I won until the semi-final stage by not dropping any more than three frames in a match. It's important to do that, if you want to win big titles like this. Rest time is very important."

Robertson roared back from trailing 5-1 to beat Mark Selby 10-7 in last year's York final, playing what he calls "some of the best snooker of my career".

And while no player has successfully defended the UK title since Stephen Hendry triumphed three years in a row from 1994 to 1996, Robertson points to the fact he has won the Wuxi Classic this season and last as evidence back-to-back successes are achievable.

"It gives me a bit more confidence," he added.

"The previous winner of a big event always has a big target on his back, so Ronnie O'Sullivan and I are the two players that the public will be looking at.

"There's also players like Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Judd Trump - and you can never rule out people like John Higgins even though he's having a tough time.

"And Mark Allen has recently lost four finals in a row so he must be at boiling point. He's going to come bashing through the door at some point."

Yorkshire crowds will be hoping Leeds teenager Oliver Lines, the European under-21 champion, can make an impact at his maiden UK Championship. China's Yu De Lu is his first-round opponent on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Lines recently reached his first tour final, albeit a minor one, and has snagged wins over world champion Mark Selby and two-time former Crucible king Mark Williams already this season.

Robertson is impressed but suggests expectations of Lines, whose father Peter is also in the draw, should be capped at realistic levels.

"He's a great talent," Robertson said.

"He's someone you wouldn't want to put too much pressure on - we've seen that with people like Luca Brecel at a young age - and you don't want it to get to his head.

"He's another left-hander as well, like me, and he plays a really nice attacking game, as most left-handers do.

"He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and I think he has a great future in the game."

An opening-day highlight sees 2011 UK champion Trump tackle Rouzi Maimaiti, a scarcely-known 31-year-old Chinese player playing comfortably the biggest match of his life.

ends