Ronnie O’Sullivan says he cannot be an ambassador like Shaun Murphy: World Snooker Championship 2011
The ‘Rocket’ Ronnie O’Sullivan is meeting Shaun Murphy in their second-round clash of the World Snooker Championship 2011 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Saturday, April 23.
However, both the players have been involved in a verbal onslaught upon each other before their match.
A couple of days back, the former world champion Shaun Murphy said about O’Sullivan that the 35-year-old has not reduced his weight enough to promote the sport of snooker well during the current season. These words from Murphy have come right before their
clash in Sheffield this week.
The three-time world champion O’Sullivan responded to Murphy saying that he has done more for the game than any player in the last 10 years in terms of performance. He said that he cannot be good at everything but that is what he can bring.
“If you wanted me to be the ambassador type and never put a foot wrong, maybe the fans wouldn’t take to me. You can’t be a saint and say all the right things and have that appeal. But I’m fallible and because of that, people want to put their arm round me.
Shaun wants to play the ambassador role but I have never wanted to be that person,” said O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan has been fighting with himself and his form in the game during the current season. He skipped a few tournaments due to personal and medical reasons and also crashed out of the first rounds of several major events.
He hinted at retirement a couple of times during the season too. He made the latest announcement just before the world championship but after consulting a sports psychiatrist, Dr Steve Peters, he reconsidered his decision and took part in the mega event.
The Wordsley potter, O’Sullivan, showed his class in the first match that he played against the Welshman Dominic Dale and defeated him with a convincing score of 10-5.
He said about his match against Murphy, “Of course I am looking forward to the match. I have respect for Shaun (Murphy) as a player – he’s been world champion, and won the UK Championship. Every year we come to Sheffield, he’s one of the guys that could
win it.”
The world number 10 Ronnie O’Sullivan has faced Murphy three times before and holds a terrific winning ratio of 68.5 percent against him. On the other hand, Murphy’s percentage of winning is 31.5 against the ‘Rocket’ as he has not beaten the Essex Exocet
O’Sullivan in the season.
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