Ronnie O’Sullivan snooker documentary The Edge of Everything is coming to cinemas and Amazon Prime
Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan brought up Rafael Nadal after claiming victory over Yuan SiJun at the Wuhan Open.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has maintained that he plays his best snooker in Asia – a strong warning to his rivals who are tasked with the job of ousting the Rocket at the Wuhan Open. The seven-time World Snooker Championship winner compared himself to tennis legend Rafael Nadal in terms of their dominance on certain surfaces, after overcoming China star Yuan SiJun to reach the quarter-finals.
O’Sullivan breezed through to claim a 5-1 win over Yuan to set up a final-eight clash with Lyu Haotian and he feels very much at home playing in Asia. The 47-year-old has likened his abilities in China to Nadal’s dominance at the French Open – where the Spanish tennis star has won an astonishing 14 times.
“I think these conditions in China suit me more than anyone else,” O’Sullivan said. “I liken it a bit to Nadal playing on clay. It forces you to play certain shots. You can be in perfect position one minute and then out of position the next. You need to be a bit of a shot-maker.
“The ball runs on and you can’t screw it as much. The white tends to go near the side cushion if you don’t play it correctly. Methodical players don’t like that. Me and Judd (Trump) make it up as we go along.”
O’Sullivan was largely in control against Yuan, but trailed 63-5 in the final frame – before making an impressive break and coming back to win 74-63 to clinch his place in the next round and continue his streak in China. After the match, O’Sullivan admitted that he enjoyed the thrill of fighting back in the final frame to wrap up the victory.
“I quite like that sort of challenge sometimes,” he said. “I didn’t expect to win it, but you know what you have to do and know you need to go red, black, red, black to have a chance. There is nothing to lose in a frame like that.”
