Ronnie O’Sullivan was left unimpressed by the performance of Si Juahui as he sealed a 13-9 victory in their World Snooker Championship quarter-final clash as he chases an eighth World Championship
Ronnie O’Sullivan was critical of Si Juahui’s efforts in the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championships, labelling the Chinese sensation as “poor”. The ‘Rocket’ sealed his victory at 13-9 to line up a semi-final clash with Zhao Xintong.
Following the afternoon session, O’Sullivan held a comfortable lead of 10-6, but Si clawed back, nabbing three of the next four frames to close the gap to 11-9. The younger challenger, however, botched critical opportunities in the concluding two frames, allowing ‘The Rocket’ to surge ahead and edge closer to a record-breaking eighth world title.
Nevertheless, O’Sullivan’s comments after the game honed in on Si’s blunders as well as critiquing his own shaky performance. “He played poor,” O’Sullivan told to the BBC, adding: “He played poor the whole match and let me off the hook loads of times. I got lucky again. He had lots of chances, I was trying everything and he let me off the hook.”
Returning from a three-month break from snooker to compete in Sheffield, O’Sullivan has consistently downplayed his prowess throughout the championship and shared a significant tweak made to his setup ahead of his latest fixture, reports the Express.
“I’m just grinding it out,” he admitted. “I had some work done on my cue today, I am playing awful and my cue feels awful but I am still here. I miss the buzz of playing well.
“I have given it my best but I am hanging in there. 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.”
Facing the prospect of going head-to-head with either current world No. 1 Judd Trump or Mark Williams in the final if he triumphs over Xintong in the semis, the 49-year-old acknowledged the high calibre of his potential opponents, who emerged victorious from their intense quarter-final clashes against Luca Brecel and John Higgins respectively.
O’Sullivan specifically pointed out Trump’s impressive performances, saying: “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.”
