RONNIE O’SULLIVAN demanded a new black ball during his win over Jak Jones at the Xi’an Grand Prix.
The Rocket was up 59-0 in the opening frame of the last-16 match against Jones in China when he noticed a problem with a ball as he prepared to take the shot.
TNT SportsRonnie O’Sullivan was “not happy” during his 5-2 win over Jak Jones as he demanded a new black ball[/caption]
As soon as he hit it, he immediately complained to officials about the ball, pointing and gesturing to it.
The official picked up the black ball to examine it as the veteran star was involved in a back-and-forth.
Eventually the seven-time world champion decided he was happy to use the ball for the rest of the frame but insisted he wanted a new one when it was finished.
He said: “I’ll use it now. Tell them to use it now. Then get me a new one.”
TNT Sports commentator Phillip Studd speculated about the nature of the problem and insisted O’Sullivan was “not happy”.
He said: “Again, O’Sullivan is not happy about the black ball.
“Maybe there is a very slight indentation on it, I am not sure. Perhaps they will change it.”
After play resumed, his co-commentator Fergus O’Brien added: “Yeah he is not happy with the black.
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“But he just said let me polish these balls off and then change it for the next frame, as you do.”
Studd added: “He is not one to have his rhythm disrupted happily, is he, O’Sullivan? Everything has got to be right.”
O’Sullivan went on to beat Jones 5-2 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Gary Wilson.
The 49-year-old is aiming to break his 21-month drought without a ranking title by winning the Xi’an Grand Prix, having reached the semi-final of last year’s competition.
Before his win over Jones, he said he could not allow his good form to distract him.
He said: “I feel like I’ve played great all season. But like I always say, this game has a way of humbling you.
“I’m very, very happy with my game, but talk to me in two, three, four weeks or two months – I’ll be ‘the game’s really hard, really difficult’.
“You can’t take this game for granted, you have to enjoy it while it’s good and when it’s not so good, you have to suck it up and just get through those periods.”
GettyThe Rocket will face Gary Wilson in the quarter-finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
