‘I’ll be happy to win a match’ – Ronnie O’Sullivan opens up on ‘appalling’ form ahead of snooker comeback at Crucible

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN reckons he would be happy to win just one match at the Crucible — despite rattling off TWO 147s on the practice table with a NEW CUE.

Some fans expect the Essex potter to rock up and beat everyone despite not playing for 13 WEEKS and having pulled out of five events on medical grounds.

Yet despite banking since the Covid crisis — including a seventh world success in 2022 — the Rocket claims “the last four years have been appalling”; on the table.

And he reckons on form, he would be “lucky”; to be placed in the world’s top 32.

O’Sullivan, who is renowned for being a perfectionist, snapped his favourite cue in anger in January.

And yet he continued his search for a new one by reeling off two maximums in just two days, filling fans with hope he will make a triumphant return.

The Romford potter did retain the championship in 2013 after a year’s sabbatical and parallels have been drawn with his latest hiatus.In an exclusive SunSport chat, it was put to O’Sullivanthat he still has the talent to go all the way in Sheffield, which start Saturday.

Yet he replied: “I’m laughing because I just feel like it’s so absurd in many ways. In 2012 or 2013, I’d have said, ‘you know what, maybe it’s possible’.

“Because I had a real confidence where my game was at. I believed that if my game was good, I had a chance to beat anyone, win any title.

“But at the moment, I would be happy to win a match. If I turn up at Sheffield and I win a match, I would go ‘that’s a huge victory for me’. It really would be.

“I know I’ve got the talent and I know that it’s there but it’s just finding it. I haven’t found it for three or four years.

“I had a spell in 2022 from January until the world championship where I won it and beat Judd Trump in the final and felt great.

“Other than that, the last four years have been so appalling I’m not sure what to expect really.

“In 2013, I know I hadn’t picked a cue up for nine months but the minute I did pick my cue up I felt like I couldn’t miss.

“On the practice table I felt like I was hitting the balls as sweet as ever. My confidence was there.

“This is completely different. If I was to be honest, I’d ask myself this question . . . where would I rank myself on performance compared to where everyone else is at the moment?

“I’d probably say I’d be lucky if I made the top 32. There are so many good players around and the standard is very, very good.

“So, I need to be good to be able to compete with the top guys.”;

O’Sullivan, a TNT Sports snooker pundit, has been struggling with his game this season and is particularly frustrated with his technique.

He continued: “The people who have been around me a lot can see what I’ve been going through.

“They say, ‘Listen, you just take as much time as you need’.

“There are people who know me but don’t see me a lot and don’t really know the full extent of it.

“They are like, ‘oh, you have got to go and get the eighth, you’ve got to go and do this’. So, it’s hard to listen to that sometimes as it’s not that easy.”;

O’Sullivan’s game cannot be that bad given he hit TWO 147s in practice last Tuesday while visiting his academy in Saudi Arabia. He used an untested cue that he brought over.

The snooker legend is trying to unpick and “unravel”; his game again and reckons his long-time issues could be down to “bad coaching advice”; from six years ago.

He said: “I know it’s not going to be a quick fix. At the moment, it’s like I’ll take a step forward, I get excited, and then bang, I take two back.

“Then I take a couple forward and then I take one back. You think that’s why I said I want to give myself some time.

“Give myself some proper time. I still know I can play, I still know I have got the mind and energy and hunger for it.

“I’ve got to try find the old way of playing snooker. I have literally forgotten what I used to do.

“I am pulling everything apart at the minute, trying to build something that is half reliable.”;

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