Mensur Suljovic has to do his job against Michael van Gerwen (Photo: Getty Images)

Mensur Suljovic says he will not try to slow down Michael van Gerwen at their World Darts Championship meeting and he never resorts to that tactic.

The Austrian defeated Mike De Decker 3-0 on Thursday afternoon to set up a third round meeting with the tournament favorites at Alexandra Palace.

Keen to beat everyone in the draw, Van Gerwen will be a firm favorite against Suljovic, who has had a quiet year on tour, partly due to a series of health issues that have hampered him.

The 50 year old has a unique style on the oche that can be quite unwieldy at times, very slow at times when playing the faster players.

He was told he could try to slow down MVG to throw him off his rhythm, but Suljovic insists he wouldn’t dream of doing it.

“No, never, never do that,” he said. “Everyone always tells me I play slowly against fast players, but I never do. I play my game, concentrate on my feelings.

“Michael is my friend, I like him. He’s a brilliant guy.’

Michael van Gerwen destroyed Lewy Williams in his opening match at the World Cup (Photo: Getty Images)

Gary Anderson was unlikely to agree with Suljovic’s claim after he furiously left the Austrian following their 2021 World Cup match.

The Scot won 4-3 in the third round, but was unnerved by what he saw when Suljovic tried to slow him down.

“Absolutely awful, absolute joke of a game. Everyone says why do you get laughed at playing darts? That’s one of the reasons,” Anderson told Sky Sports in December 2020.

“In the end I stole it, I don’t know how, but if it’s darts then I’m offski. If darts go like this and play like that, have fun. I’m gone. I’m going to play golf or something. I won’t anymore to experience.”

Suljovic was pleased with a solid performance to beat De Decker, but knows it must be much better to beat Van Gerwen, who shone in his opening game against Lewy Williams.

Might Mike beat the Welshman 3-0, averaging 101.84 and winning the second set in just 36 darts.

“I’m so happy, I played well today, but I’ll save my best game for next time,” Suljovic said on Thursday. “Michael van Gerwen is the favorite every time. I saw the last game on TV and he played brilliantly, the second set is fantastic but every game is different.

“I am a player who likes long games, I hope I can put him under pressure.”