Michael van Gerwen says “there’s nothing wrong with my eyes” after Peter Wright claimed the Dutchman’s “eyesight will probably be successful”.
Van Gerwen avoided a major upset in his first round match against Japan’s Mitsuhiko Tatsunami at the World Darts Championships on Thursday, extending his unbeaten run to 14 years in the opening match at Alexandra Palace.
But Peter Wright, who could play Van Gerwen in the third round, revealed earlier this week that he thought the three-time world champion’s eyesight could be getting worse.
“I think their (young players’) vision is better than ours, I think that’s it,” Wright said.
“Obviously Gary (Anderson) wears glasses or contacts. I don’t know if Michael currently wears contacts, but I think MVG’s vision will probably succeed. But he won’t admit it at the moment.”
In response to Wright’s comments, Van Gerwen said, “There’s nothing wrong with my eyes. Don’t worry, I keep getting compliments.”
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Michael van Gerwen recalls almost achieving the unthinkable when he hit 17 perfect darts in the semi-final against James Wade at the 2013 World Championships.
Van Gerwen will play either Ireland’s William O’Connor or Poland’s Krzysztof Kciuk in the next round, while Wright will face German qualifier Arno Merk.
If the former world champions were to make this match, they would meet in a mouth-watering third round match after Christmas.
“Years ago I used to play Michael van Gerwen in his prime. He was like the GOAT. It was an honor to play with him in so many finals,” said Wright.
“I’ll take an extra piece or two because I need it against Michael. I want to play him. He needs to win, I need to win. It’ll be good for the TV crowd. I want to beat him.”
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Take a look at the Christmas costumes Peter Wright has treated Alexandra Palace crowds to over the years.
Wright previously called Van Gerwen a “big baby,” but the ‘Mighty Mike’ said no one would “get into his head.”
He half-jokingly said: “I hope he opens his mouth as wide as he has over the past two weeks because I keep trashing him at the exhibition.
“He’s made so many comments over the years. It takes my breath away to mention Peter Wright’s name.”
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Michael van Gerwen’s thoughts on winning the first round of the World Championship
Van Gerwen: I wasn’t nervous from the start of the first round.
Van Gerwen overcame a major scare to advance to the second round as debutant Tatsunami won the first set and held a 2-0 lead a leg into the second.
The 36-year-old admitted he was “out of my head” and said he needed to be more composed for the remainder of the tournament.
“I wasn’t myself at the beginning of the game. I was too excited. My head wasn’t where it should be, so you make it really difficult for yourself,” Van Gerwen said.
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Mitsuhiko Tatsunami takes the first set against Michael van Gerwen in the first round of the World Championship.
“I think this fight was a fight against myself, which is never a good sign, but unfortunately I was.
“Then you have to stay calm, find your own rhythm and pace and make it really difficult. I give 100 percent. Everyone knows that.”
Van Gerwen also said there was “a lot of room for improvement” after averaging just 90.82 and hitting a 29% doubles success rate.
Michael van Gerwen is a three-time world champion, but his last win was in 2019.
“It wasn’t my best performance, but at least I won. The most important thing in the first round of a World Championship is to survive, win and try to play as good as you can. I didn’t actually do that, but a win is a win,” he added.
“I tried to keep fighting, keep performing. I knew I could make it really hard if I went up just a little bit, but I made it so hard on myself.
“Games like this are tough sometimes. What can I say? It was c**p. We can do a lot better. I know that, but that’s it.”
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