Ronnie O’Sullivan says he is “envious” of Ding Jinhui – despite having beaten his Chinese snooker rival 25 times in competitive meetings and having won 26 more ranking titles than him. O’Sullivan secured his latest victory over the Dragon at Alexandra Palace on Monday with a 6-3 triumph at the Masters that moves him into the quarter-finals.
Ding reduced the deficit from 4-0 to 4-3 at one point and managed a terrific maximum break which delighted the Ally Pally crowd. But the Rocket then responded with two century breaks of 127 and 132 to secure victory despite Ding’s magnificent 147.
Post-match, seven-time world champion O’Sullivan was eager to pay tribute to Ding. The pair played each other on Christmas Day in an exhibition in Macau which the Englishman won 6-2 and contested another exhibition in Lhasa, Tibet after New Year. Ding won that one 6-5 after being 5-1 down.
The 2011 Masters champion threatened another comeback in the Masters before O’Sullivan responded expertly to his maximum. Despite losing, Ding became the first player in history to manage two 147s at the prestigious event that pays its winner £250,000.
And speaking on the BBC afterwards, O’Sullivan admitted he would love to be able to have the same command of the cue ball that the 36-year-old has. His comments come despite Ronnie winning the UK Championship final against Ding last month and beating him another 24 times across his career, including this win at the Masters.
O’Sullivan explained: “He just wasn’t out of position once. His cue ball control is better than anybody ever. Nobody has ever controlled the cue ball like Ding in and amongst the balls.
“It’s just a delight to watch. I’m envious of that game! If you can play snooker like that, that positional play, it’s a lovely game to play you know.”
Asked how he fought back against Ding, Ronnie added: “I just don’t care. When I say I don’t care, I don’t mean I don’t care, I mean I just play like I’m playing down the club. A lot of players play good down the club but they come down here and then something happens, I don’t know.
“I just relax even more. I’m not saying I’m relaxed out there, beforehand I’m a bit tense, but I just think you’ve got to go for it and play. I’ve learned to play from a place of abandonment and just yeah, that’s how I’ve always played.”
O’Sullivan missed an easy red while looking to move 5-0 in front and his miss allowed Ding back into the match. The 48-year-old explained: “I must’ve gone through about 28 different cue actions in that game. Anything can happen out there.
“When I missed that red, I wasn’t surprised because I was trying to do something with my fingers. I just went, ‘Oh here we go.’ But I thought if I got another chance I’d just try and pot a few again.”
The Rocket only returned to England last week after trips to Macau and Lhasa and added: “I got back Wednesday. I’ve had a couple days’ practice. I’ve not played much since the UK. A little bit of jetlag for four or five days, still feel a bit tired now. But it’s part of the job you know.”
