O’Sullivan compares playing in China to Nadal on clay

ByEurosport

Updated 12/10/2023 at 18:29 GMT

Ronnie O’Sullivan is bidding to win his third consecutive event in China at this week’s Wuhan Open. On Thursday, the world No. 1 safely progressed to the quarter-finals and will face Lyu Haotian next on Friday. Speaking after defeating Yuan Sijun on Thursday, O’Sullivan says he feels as comfortable playing snooker in China as Rafael Nadal does playing tennis on clay because of the conditions.

O’Sullivan wraps up win over Yuan to reach quarter-finals of Wuhan Open

Ronnie O’Sullivan has compared how comfortable he is playing snooker in China to 22-time Grand Slam tennis champion Rafael Nadal playing tennis on a clay surface.

The seven-time world champion said he feels as at home playing in China as 14-time French Open winner Nadal does on the red dirt.

“I think these conditions [in China] suit me and Judd [Trump] more than anyone else,” he 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 shotmaker. 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 make it up as we go along.”

O’Sullivan pots superb double before sinking two reds with one shot – ‘Buy one, get one free’

In the last frame against Yuan, O’Sullivan trailed 63-5 but got the necessary blacks to clinch the frame and ultimately the victory. O’Sullivan admitted he liked having to fight back to seal the win.

“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.”

When O’Sullivan was asked how he handles having a bad game, he says he simply tries to “ignore it” as much as he can.

“I just play,” the 39-time ranking event winner said.

“Just gain resilience, I’ve played so many poor games that you just don’t get carried away. Just ignore it, ignore the good ones, ignore the bad ones.

“Ignore the wins and the losses, just ignore as much as it as you can, be resilient as you can and just play.”

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