Comeback win
Snooker champ O’Sullivan secures victory after false start
SHEFFIELD, England — Ronnie O’Sullivan believes he could live to the age of 200, but apologized on Sunday to Crucible fans for the “embarrassing” start to his latest world-title bid.
With a sixth World Championship in his sights, O’Sullivan made a false start against Stephen Maguire in Sheffield, but atoned by winning seven out of eight frames to secure a 10-7 victory.
The Englishman trailed 6-3 after Saturday’s opening session, but grasped a lifeline when the Scottish front-runner became jittery.
A packed house watched O’Sullivan avoid the firstround fate that befell defending champion Mark Selby on the opening day, and this time ‘The Rocket’ was relieved to turn on the style, a stark contrast to Saturday’s sub-par performance.
“It was so embarrassing and I felt like I wanted to give them all their money back. I was gutted,” said O’Sullivan.
“They took a Saturday afternoon off to watch a bit of snooker. Thank God Stephen potted a few balls. I was missing them all over the gaff.
“I was lucky to get through, and that’s good for me and unlucky for Stephen.”
Maguire squandered chance after chance on Sunday and an O’Sullivan victory began to look inevitable long before he sewed it up.
O’Sullivan, 42, looks to have many years ahead of him in snooker and he hopes to live a remarkably long life after dedicating himself to healthy living.
Teaming up with nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert, with whom he is writing a book, has given O’Sullivan a new outlook.
“I think I’m going to live until about 200 now, I feel so good,” he said. “The way I’m feeling now is frightening. I feel better than I ever have.
“The biggest thing for me this year has been how I’ve tackled how I eat. I’m amazed at how good I feel and how healthy I am.
“Compared to the average Briton, I’ll always look well. You look at the state of some of the humans in our country and they’re massively obese, a bit like America really. I don’t want to fall into that trap.
“I never thought I’d like celery but I’m eating so much of it now I’m going to look like a celery stick at the end of this tournament.”
O’Sullivan will face Ali Carter in the second round.