Ronnie O’Sullivan says he has stopped ‘smashing balls up’ and there’ll be ‘no more sabotaging’
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Updated 14/11/2022 at 18:28 GMT
World No. 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan has explained he is applying himself mentally at the UK Championship, so there will be "no more sabotaging" or "smashing balls up". O’Sullivan made the references to Eurosport following his 6-2 win against Matthew Stevens, where he showed signs of playing himself into form as the week progresses in York. Stream the 2022 UK Championship on discovery+.
‘No more sabotaging’ - O’Sullivan applying himself mentally
Ronnie O’Sullivan says he is mentally applying himself at the UK Championship after he cruised into the second round of the event.
Although O’Sullivan wasn’t at his best, he took a relatively comfortable 6-2 win against Matthew Stevens.
He will play Zhou Yuelong, who beat Yan Bingtao in a thrilling match that went to a decider, on Wednesday afternoon.
“It was alright, like a nice practice session, just enjoying myself, having a bit of fun out there,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport. “What can you do? At this stage of my career you have to enjoy it at one point.
“I applied myself mentally. I’m not really up for playing, I’m not really sure why and it doesn’t really matter why.
“I’m there to do a job. I’ve been taught to go out there and be very professional, be focused and do all the right things, even if you’re not feeling great and all that sort of stuff.
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O'Sullivan cuts his nails in match with Stevens
“So I’m pretty good at doing that now which is good. So no more sabotaging and smashing balls up and wanting to get home. It’s very different.
“Look, I don’t care if I win or lose. If I lose, good luck to everybody, everyone in this sport needs a good result now and then I suppose.
He added: “I don’t talk about my matches or care how I play. It’s so insignificant. Happy to be here, I’m staying here no matter what, I like York [and] enjoy it, and I’ll go out there and hit some balls at some point.”
O’Sullivan has won two events this season - the Hong Kong Masters and Champion of Champions, but has struggled in the ranking tournaments.
He made his 129th and 130th centuries at the UK Championship against Stevens and showed signs of playing into form this week.
Prior to the fourth frame, he got a nail clipper out which was certainly an unusual scene in snooker, even for 'The Rocket'.
“It started getting all itchy and I started picking them [my fingers],” said O’Sullivan. “Then there’s bloody everywhere so my nail clipper is there to stop me eating them basically.
“I don’t know what I’m doing out there to be honest, you’re in your own world out there.”
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