SPAT’S LIFE
Carter: Row with Ronnie over
ALI CARTER insists he has not given his Masters spat with Ronnie O’Sullivan a second’s thought ahead of theWorld Championship.
The bad blood between the pair dominated the Rocket’s victory over the Captain in January.
Carter accused O’Sullivan of “snotting all over the floor” during the match, while the seven-time world champion hit back with an extraordinary, expletive-filled rant in his post-match press conference.
“He needs to sort his f***ing life out,” said an irate O’Sullivan, adding that Carter was a “nightmare” to play against.
Carter says there has been no dialogue with O’Sullivan since – “no, I haven’t spoken to him”, he revealed – and was adamant there was no need for clear-the-air talks.
“I reflect on it as a really good tournament,” Carter said. “I won’t lose any sleep over what was said. It was heat-of-the-moment stuff. We move forward and look forward to the battle in Sheffield hopefully.”
The pair did play each other again earlier this month, with O’Sullivan romping to a 10-2 victory at the Tour Championship in Manchester.
There were no fireworks, with O’Sullivan declining to discuss Carter in his pre-match interview.
With the pair on opposite sides of the draw, they would both have to reach the final to face each other at the Crucible this year.
Carter begins his campaign today against Stephen Maguire, while O’Sullivan starts on Wednesday against Jackson Page.
It is 12 years since Carter was in a world final and he has gone through a lot since losing that match to O’Sullivan.
The following year he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent surgery. He soon returned to action, only for cancer to be discovered on his lung in 2014, requiring chemotherapy.
In more recent years, after falling down the rankings, Carter, 44, has also pondered quitting the sport to become an airline pilot.
“I feel like I’m a totally different person [to 2012],” he said. “It was so long ago, I can hardly remember it! Obviously, I’ve been ill since then and your brain has a funny way of deleting memory files from trauma.
“I’m being serious when I say I can hardly remember getting to the semis and the final [at the Crucible]. I’m sure if I get that far again, the memories will come back.”