Ronnie O’Sullivan wins to set up Stephen Hendry clash
Three-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Jimmy White 3-1 to reach the last 16 of the snooker World Open in Glasgow.
After the madness of his refusal to pot the black for the 147 maximum on Monday, O’Sullivan missed easy balls in the opening frame today, presenting chances to White. However, the six-time world finalist looked nervous and couldn’t capitalise, allowing O’Sullivan took the lead.
The Rocket punished a miss from White to double his lead, rapidly clearing the table. White responded in the third frame in great style, knocking in a break of 88 to make the score 2-1.
White was playing some fantastic stuff, and he should have taken the match to a deciding frame, but after he missed a red into the right-middle pocket while on a break of 56, O’Sullivan took control and in typical fashion he cleared the table to set up a clash with Stephen Hendry in the next round.
“It's great to play against Jimmy because he's good to watch,” said O'Sullivan to BBC Sport. “But it's unfortunate for him that he's good to watch - it means you concentrate throughout rather than switching off. He started nervously but that's only to be expected when you haven't reached the latter stages of a tournament for a while. When I missed I got away with it.
“Then he got his rhythm and didn't look like he wouldn't miss. When he plays like that he's still a top eight player. It was nice to play in front of a packed audience but I lost my rhythm a bit and it was tough. At one stage I struggled to even pot a red and black.
“I don't like seeing Jimmy lose even if it me that is beating him but you have to go out to try to win the match. You need to treat Jimmy like any opponent but he was my role-model and I love him,” added O’Sullivan.
The Rocket is looking forward to his match against Hendry. "I love him. I had that spat with him a few years ago [at the 2002 World Championship when he said he wanted to send Hendry 'back to his sad little life'] and he didn't speak to me for three years after that. But we've got mutual respect. He's top drawer with a proven track record," said O'Sullivan.
Speaking about the 147 that nearly wasn't, O'Sullivan said: "I knew there was no prize [for making a maximum]. I got the paperwork at the start of the season. I was playing poorly so I was thinking about how I could motivate myself and add a bit of pressure.
"I'd declared from the off that I wanted to make a 147 to keep myself interested. And I said it to get people talking, I've been at home for the last couple of days and there's been a lot about it in the papers and on the radio."
Meanwhile, Andrew Higginson upset world No.14 Marco Fu by winning 3-1. Higginson, a Welsh Open finalist back in 2007, led 2-0 after Fu wasn’t having the best of times on the table. Fu managed to pull one frame back by knocking in a break of 60 after Higginson missed a red when the finishing line was in sight, but it wasn’t enough to save him, as Higginson sealed his passage into the last 16 and a tie against the reigning world champion Neil Robertson.
UK champion Ding Junhui is the first man to book his place in the quarter-finals after beating Marcus Campbell 3-0. Ding has looked impressive so far in this event, and he is certainly a major threat as he scored at every opportunity he had. On this form, the other players will want to avoid drawing Ding in the last eight.
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