Ronnie O’Sullivan had a mixed game but had enough quality to win 4-2 against Si Jiahui at the English Open.
O’Sullivan scored a better 78 against Paget than he did against Paget on Thursday. However, he was able to use his years of experience to face Zhang Anda in the last 16. the evening
O’Sullivan – who described his performance as „terrible” in an interview with Eurosport – missed two long reds to open the match.
A second miss gave Si an opportunity, and he scored 101 – his fourth century this season – to move ahead.
After seeing two tough reds fail in the opener, O’Sullivan missed a simple black in the second.
Si had chances to double his lead but failed to take them and he was made to pay for overcutting a red on the bottom left as O’Sullivan stepped up with a half-century to steal a second.
O’Sullivan’s poor play continued in the third set and Si moved ahead.
There were more errors from O’Sullivan in the fourth, but the seven-time world champion kept himself busy and turned the frame when SI went in-off from a poor positional shot and the Rocket leveled at 53. match
There were a series of good pots from Si in five, but cue-ball control was lacking and it cost him when he got out of the brown.
Shortly after, Si’s header followed the second in-off moments, and it proved costly as O’Sullivan took the forward’s half-century for the first time in the match.
’What a surprise!’ – O’Sullivan is straight red, then Potts misses the next shot at White
Si hit a series of brilliant pots during the tournament, but O’Sullivan missed a difficult one at the sixth opening to give him the chance.
After some poor efforts earlier in the day, O’Sullivan shot a brilliant 78 – including two party pieces of a double red and a long yellow to clinch victory.
„I thought it was terrible,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport’s Alan McManus. „I try to be kind to myself on the outside, and sometimes a voice in my head can be really critical.
„I’m just trying to say some nice things, don’t be too hard on myself.
„I enjoy playing, I fight, I love to play and I give everything I can.”
O’Sullivan will return to action later Thursday against Zhang, who is coming off a 4-1 win over Elliot Slessor.
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