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Ronnie O’Sullivan has warned he still might pull out of the World Championship if he has a ‘meltdown’ before his first-round match on Tuesday – and admitted: ‘I’ve lost my bottle.’
The record seven-time world champion has not played a tournament since January, but was persuaded to make his 33rd consecutive Crucible appearance by rival Barry Hawkins, who he practised with this week.
However, O’Sullivan said he felt ‘flat’ when he arrived in Sheffield for Friday’s media day and insists it will be a ‘victory in itself’ if he turns out for his opener against old foe Ali Carter.
‘It’s Friday now, I’m not playing until Tuesday, so if I have a meltdown, who knows? I might still bloody withdraw,’ admitted the 49-year-old Rocket.
‘I hope I don’t. I’m used to dealing with pressurised situations. But this feels a lot different. It feels like I’ve lost my nerve, maybe lost my bottle.
‘Even when I went to Saudi Arabia to do the exhibitions last week, I felt quite nervous exposing myself to the scrutiny and judgement. That felt hard enough, let alone coming here to try and play.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has warned he could still pull out of the World Championship next week
Record winner O’Sullivan said he felt ‘flat’ when he arrived in Sheffield for Friday’s media day
The seven-time champ will take on old foe Ali Carter in his opening match at the Crucible
‘I am surprised I am here but I am here. For me, just getting out there to play will be a victory in itself. I feel a bit flat, just going through the motions. I feel like a bit of an old man clinging on.’
O’Sullivan famously won the World Championship in 2013 – the fifth of his seven titles – after sitting out the whole season for personal reasons. But despite hitting two 147 breaks at his academy in Saudi Arabia last week, he has played down his chances of claiming his eighth Crucible crown.
‘Could I win the whole thing? I doubt it,’ he said. ‘I’d be very happy to just give Ali a game. I have to be realistic.
‘I wouldn’t read too much into a 147 in an exhibition. It’s a lot of different to coming to the Crucible and playing the best players in the world.
‘I don’t have any expectations. I’d just like to not feel all at sea out there. If I can just play and at least feel semi-competitive, I’d be happy with that.’
O’Sullivan only made his decision to play at the Crucible on Wednesday following his final practice with Hawkins, who he beat in the 2013 final.
‘I played Barry for a couple of days and on the second day, it was that bad that I quit halfway through the session,’ he revealed.
‘Barry came down and had a talk to me and said, “It’s not as bad as you maybe think”. He kind of convinced me that maybe I was being a bit harsh on myself, so I was like “OK”.
O’Sullivan only made his decision to play at the Crucible on Wednesday after his final practice
Veteran John Higgins could also pull out of the competition following a family emergency
‘I held on to that and spoke to (psychiatrist) Steve Peters and he said, “Just try and focus on this tournament and I’ll be there for you”.’
O’Sullivan has a long-running feud with his opening opponent Carter, with the pair barging shoulders during their second-round match at the Crucible in 2018.
Carter also accused his rival of ‘snotting all over the floor’ during last year’s Masters final, with O’Sullivan responding with an X-rated rant about his fellow Essex potter.
‘It was probably just heat of the moment stuff at the time,’ said O’Sullivan yesterday. ‘I wished I wouldn’t have said what I said but I can’t take it back. Neither of us think much about it.’
Meanwhile, John Higgins’ participation is in doubt after his wife’s dad suffered a heart attack.
The four-time world champion missed Thursday night’s inaugural Masters-style Champions’ Dinner and was also absent from Friday’s media day.
The in-form Higgins, 49, is due to face qualifier Joe O’Connor on Monday.
