Published On: Fri, Apr 5th, 2024

Ronnie O’Sullivan ‘in a hole mentally’ despite reaching Tour Championship final | Other | Sport


Ronnie O’Sullivan has admitted he is still battling his demons after being ‘in a hole mentally’. O’Sullivan defeated Gary Wilson to reach the Tour Championship final on Friday night. In an absorbing contest that ebbed and flowed, the Rocket gave up a two-frame advantage for the second time as his opponent pegged him back to 7-7, before upping the tempo to prevail 10-7 as he finished on a sublime 129 clearance.

For much of the contest, the world No.1 was not at his flowing best, and at one point suffered a terrible kick as he missed a simple red. He was also penalised for a ‘push’ shot, and yet still found a way to make a 64th ranking final as his stellar season continues.

But in his post-match interview, the 48-year-old revealed he is in frequent consultation with psychiatrist Steve Peters and is still struggling mentally. “I’ve just got to commit to it for a good year and try and get myself out of this hole I’ve got myself in,” he said.

“Mentally, this obsession with the game, this tinkering…..and I know I’m never going to stop tinkering but I’ve got to somehow get my head strong enough and not go too deep into that horrible, murky world that it is. Every sportsman….golfer, snooker player, darts….we all do it. But I went so deep into it.”

Last month, O’Sullivan withdrew from the Welsh Open in Llandudno due to issues with anxiety. And he appeared to shed light on that situation, saying he’d had the ‘yips’ which had affected his state of mind.

He added: “I’ve had the yips, mentally, physically, you get scared to even go and play and that’s not a nice place to be. So I got nothing left to do other than mentally get myself out of it.”

The seven-time world champion did label the venue and crowd “fantastic” and said he believed Wilson would have beaten him had the match taken place a few weeks back. “Two weeks ago I’d have mentally thrown the towel in……but I just kept thinking keep going, keep going, keep going, and focus on some of the positives,” he added.

There was no shortage of drama in the final four clash, with Wilson banging his cue on the floor during the first session after missing a straightforward pot, before later having a dubious foul call against him. But he then offered a sporting gesture when his opponent was penalised, urging the referee in vain to reconsider the call.

Both players also had to pause the action two frames in after the snooker table needed repairs. ITV commentator Phil Yates claimed that one of the pockets on the table “malfunctioned” and needed to be attended to.

On Sunday, O’Sullivan will now meet the winner of Saturday’s second semi-final between Mark Williams and Mark Allen.



Source link

Verified by MonsterInsights