Masters snooker 2022 - 'Nervous' Ronnie O'Sullivan vows to test himself at the Masters ahead of Neil Robertson clash

ByEurosport

Updated 11/01/2022 at 16:15 GMT

Ronnie O'Sullivan breezed into the last eight of the Masters with a convincing victory over Jack Lisowski. Even after such a convincing win, O'Sullivan admits he was feeling the nerves inside a noisy Alexandra Palace and vows to challenge himself in matches. Stream the Masters and other top snooker live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

'I'm just enjoying myself!' - O'Sullivan says he's not thinking about winning title

Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted he was nervous playing in front of a boisterous crowd during his 6-1 win over Jack Lisowski inside Alexandra Palace, but says he will test himself at the Masters.

The Rocket comes into the Masters tournament off the back of winning the World Grand Prix last month and will now face Neil Robertson in the last eight after easing past Lisowski.

O'Sullivan says he felt the nerves early on but believes his opponents should be wary of his ability going into matches.

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“I struggled, I was so nervous,” he said.

“It’s such a big crowd and we were playing behind closed doors for so long. I’ve forgotten what it is like to play in front of a crowd let alone a crowd full of mad Londoners.

“I was feeling the pressure but after the second frame I calmed down a bit. I thought ‘OK, let’s try and play snooker’ and I played alright.

I just savour every match I play. 20 majors, the most successful player of all time. I’ve just got to keep thinking about that and take into the match and let them worry about me.

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Before beating Robertson in the World Grand Prix final in December, the Rocket had finished runner-up in his previous five tournaments.

O’Sullivan admitted he was not trying hard enough to get over the line last year, but vows to test himself this year.

Speaking to Eurosport, he said: “If you look over the last two years, I’ve been the world champion, won the last tournament – whatever that was – I’ve had five finals and it’s not bad.

“A lot of people would like to have that record and I haven’t really been giving 100 per cent. I’ve been in second gear most of the time and I just enjoy myself and have fun.

That’s been fun but sometimes I think ‘let’s just test myself’ and see if I can get back in the mustard jar, smother myself in it and see what we’ve got.

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Eurosport’s Jimmy White believes O’Sullivan is looking well positioned to go on and win the Masters.

“He can play a bit better than that,” he said. “As he said in that interview he was a bit nervous. I liked the way he said “20 majors, best player ever”. That doesn’t sound like someone talking a road trip to me that looks like he’s a serious contender for the tournament.

“He’s got his confidence from winning that Grand Prix and he beat Neil Robertson. He’s playing Robertson in the next match. He looked a little bit frustrated against Lisowski because of a few misses and missed positional shots. In the end he won that game in complete style. He looks in good shape.”

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Neal Foulds, also on Eurosport punditry, believes O’Sullivan’s emphatic victory over Lisowski showed exactly why he is a champion.

He said: “He came out with a lot of confidence today and this side of Christmas and the new year he’s been able to build on what he’s achieved there. I expected him to play like that.

“He played like the champion he is, he finished off in style and his game is in good shape.”