ROCKET TOO RELAXED FOR GRAND START
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN reckons a Tibetan head massage left him far too relaxed for his World Grand Prix entrance.
A misfiring Rocket was still too good for Devon veteran and world No.77 Andy Hicks, stuttering to a 4-1 victory at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
And six-time world champion O’Sullivan, the 2018 winner of the event for the season’s 32 best performing players, said: “I’ve stayed in a really nice place the last two or three days.
“I have been spa-ing it up because I felt like I needed a bit of pampering.
“I had my feet done, that was really nice, and some facials. But I felt more tired and horizontal for doing nothing.
“And I had something called a Tibetan head massage. That was great.
“You lie down and I actually fell asleep and started snoring, which I apologised for. But she was cool, she said I must have needed it and was quite tense around the neck.
“Basically we sat round drinking teas and talking rubbish with my mate.
“And I felt so relaxed out there today for the match, I was telling myself, ‘Come on man, get fired up’.
“But I just didn’t have it in me and felt like I was going through the motions.
“My main aim from this run of tournaments was to get through it without cracking up.
“I’ve managed that so far, so that’s great.
“Look, it’s felt like a really long road trip these past four weeks but it’s nearly coming to an end.
“The car’s packed and if I’d lost I’d have been straight home. But it’s at least another night here.”
Despite being well short of his normal standard, O’Sullivan laid a brilliant snooker on the second last red to win frame four.
And he rattled in a break of 60 – the highest of the match from either player – to get over the line.
Today in the last 16 he faces Iran’s Hossein Vafaei, who beat Geordie Gary Wilson 4-1.
The 27-year-old has struck up a friendship with O’Sullivan and is fast gaining a reputation as a tough match player.
Tom Ford last night beat Judd Trump 4-3 in their round of 16 showdown as Yan Bingtao got the better of Martin Gould 4-0.