Ronnie O’Sullivan has continued to offer a damning assessment of his performances despite reaching the semi-finals of the Snooker World Championship for a record 14th time. The Rocket defeated Si Jiahui 13-9 at the Crucible to continue in his bid to land an unprecendented eigth title.
O’Sullivan is not content with the standard of his play however and is enduring difficulty with his cue despite navigating his way past Ali Carter, Junxu Pang and Jiahui. The snooker legend snapped a cue earlier this year and saw uncertainty over whether he would play in this year’s competition after an extended hiatus.
The 49-year-old has not reached his best form in the tournament but once again finds himself of the verge of making history. “I have give it my best but I am hanging in there,” said O’Sullivan.
“I would like to be playing better but I have to try and find some form at some point. I don’t feel rusty, I have only been playing for a month but I just couldn’t face playing. It gets harder, look at the way Judd is playing.
“I won’t be able to get away with what I have done so far. I can’t get any worse, put it that way.”
Despite his progress, O’Sullivan has admitted he is lacking confidence in Sheffield. “Well, I don’t think I can get any worse but we will see,” added O’Sullivan.
“I have butchered more shots in this tournament than I have in years. I’m like a swan on the top but flapping legs at the bottom. I am playing with zero confidence. I have to grind it out.”
The seven-time winner is not current happy with his cue, but he is nevertheless looking forward to his next match and opponent.
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He said: “I’m grinding it out. Had work done on my cue. The cue feels awful. I am playing awful. I need a new ferrule.
“I miss the buzz of playing well. I’m trying all sorts, to hold the cue in a different place, try anything. Si played poorly in the whole match. He let me off. He gave me chances.
“I’m looking forward to each match. I will keep plugging away. I love the Chinese guys to do well. It’s not easy for them. They are brilliant. A credit to China. Zhao is a formidable opponent.”
O’Sullivan next faces Zhao Xintong in the semi-finals. The Chinese star qualified for the tournament as an amateur having been banned for 20 months over a match-fixing scandal.
The 27-year-old was one of 10 players suspended and accepted charges of betting on a game he knew had been thrown. The match-fixing scandal stalled his career and the Chinese star has played on the Q Tour after his suspension expired in September.
The 2021 UK Championship winner has waltzed through to the final four for the first time however. Xintong beat Chris Wakelin 13-5 in the quarter-finals.
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