Ronnie O'Sullivan wants John Higgins to 'push the boundaries' and be 'more aggressive' at the table
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Updated 17/12/2023 at 09:10 GMT
John Higgins slipped to a disappointing defeat to Noppon Saengkham in the semi-finals of the Scottish Open in Edinburgh. He was beaten from a position of strength at 3-1 to the good, and world No. 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan has urged the Scot to adopt a more aggressive approach at the table. Stream top snooker action, including the Scottish Open, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com
“Be a bit more aggressive’ - O’Sullivan urges Higgins to play on the front foot
Ronnie O’Sullivan has urged John Higgins to adopt a more aggressive approach at the table in a bid to work his way out of his current slump.
Higgins has not won a ranking title since the Players Championship in early 2021, and has suffered a series of near misses and bruising defeats in big matches.
A further chance came and went in Edinburgh on Saturday, as he slipped to a 6-3 defeat to Noppon Saengkham in the semi-finals of the Scottish Open after leading 3-1.
Higgins looked extremely strong going into the interval, only to falter when missing a pink in the fifth frame.
O’Sullivan feels Higgins is still playing well and does not have any issues on the mental side of the game, but believes he needs to adopt a more aggressive approach at the table.
"If I was giving John a bit of advice I’d probably say be a bit more aggressive,” O’Sullivan said in the Eurosport studio. “I think to win matches now at this level you have got to find a high gear.
“John is very solid, but I don’t know if solid is good enough at the moment with this level.
“I think he has got to push the boundaries a bit more. He is such a good player that if he came out and played with the aggressiveness that Noppon played with I think he would scare people more.
“It is tough to give someone like John advice, no one knows his game better than John does, but I just watch him sometimes and if he was to really push the boat out - that’s all I think he can try.
“No one likes playing someone that is coming at you at 100mph constantly. When someone backs off a bit you can get comfortable in the match and John has got to stop letting people feel comfortable against him.
“With John he just wants to win something and I think his best way of doing it is going and going.
“When you get to the business end of tournaments, average is not going to do it. I am not saying John is average as he is a superb player, but I think if he plays a high enough level of attacking play he will win."
O’Sullivan benefited from working with Steve Peters on the mental side of the game, but he does not feel that is an issue for Higgins.
“I don’t think John needs to worry about the mental side, he has an amazing temperament,” O’Sullivan said. “For me it is more about being more aggressive. That’s all I think he can try.”
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