Ronnie O’Sullivan says ‘sometimes I just can’t wait to get out the venue… it’s that bad and embarrassing’
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has blasted his own performance, despite mustering a stunning comeback to reach the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Masters.
The Rocket has been critical of his game of late, and has even resoted to playing with his LEFT hand to try and regain his mojo.
In his latest match, O’Sullivan squeezed past Zhang Anda 6-5 after coming from three frames down.
The 32-year-old had roared into a 3-0 lead over the seven-time world champion, but O’Sullivan used all his experience and know-how to ensure he progressed.
However, speaking to the WST after the match, he said: “Sometimes I just can’t wait to get out of the venue. It’s that bad, it’s that embarrassing, it’s that poor.
“I just feel terrible to be honest with you. But I don’t want to sit there and show everyone how I’m feeling.
“I put a bit of a professional head on and go right I need to get a job done and get out of here, that sort of thing.
“I’m not showing my frustrations but the frustrations are there you know.
“It’s not a nice place to be when you’re putting in poor performance after poor performance.
“I might be getting over the line, but I don’t get no joy in just getting over the line.”
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He continued: “I like to just muller the balls, to dominate the table and have that cue ball on a bit of string and dictating play.
“And I just don’t feel like I’ve been doing that for quite a while now.”
The 48-year-old also sensationally claimed, “I ain’t got long left. I’ll be lucky if I’m in the top 16 in two or three years the way I’m playing,” after beating Zhang.
As it stands O’Sullivan sits fourth in the world rankings.
He added: “The way I’ve been playing, it’s no fun for me. I just want to play well for seven, eight or nine matches on the bounce.
“He’s (Zhang) the best fluker I’ve ever seen. I thought he was going to fluke one and make 70.”
The win puts O’Sullivan one step closer to landing the £500,000 prize for the winner of the competition.
Inside Ronnie's colourful career
FROM his lightning breaks to blasts at officials, Ronnie O'Sullivan has fired snooker into the spotlight.
The seven-time world champion makes almost as big an impact away from the table as on it.
O’Sullivan has three children – two daughters and a son.
And the Rocket’s on-off relationship with British actress Laila Rouass has also hit the headlines.
He has opened up on battles with his weight and addiction.
While the controversial cueist reckons he wasted NINE YEARS of his career by partying too hard.
Despite being worth £14million, O’Sullivan is renowned for his love of canal boats and snubbing flashy cars.
His rivalry with fellow star Judd Trump has been branded ‘snooker’s greatest feud’.
And Ali Carter had his nose knocked out of joint by the Rocket in their infamous ‘Snotgate’ row.
Check out all our latest Ronnie O’Sullivan articles.