O'Sullivan repeats quit threat

It’s 11 years since Jimmy White captured a world ranking tournament – in which time Ronnie O’Sullivan has won almost everything there is to win in snooker.

But while O’Sullivan again talked last night of taking an extended break from the sport, White has no intention of quitting a game that has dealt him many cruel blows.

The duo do have one thing in common though – a place in the quarter-finals of the £615,000 (€883,000) Travis Perkins UK Championship.

And with Stephen Hendry coming from 6-4 and 8-6 down to beat his bogeyman Ali Carter 9-8, it’s a tasty last-eight line-up at York’s Barbican Centre.

Yesterday’s action and reaction continued a thread that has been woven throughout the championship, almost from day one.

Carter’s performance against the seven-times world champion showed again how the gap has narrowed between the so-called top players and supposedly lesser lights.

The Tiptree professional was probably just one ball from ousting Hendry 9-6.

Instead, he missed the final yellow of the 15th frame and Hendry didn’t allow him a point over the final two-and-a-half frames.

But it was a close call for Hendry who now meets Norwich’s Barry Pinches, the world number 36.

Pinches has another day to prepare for the first ranking tournament quarter-final of his 14-year professional career.

Given his lack of progress he could have taken the easy option to quit the game. But as he said after defeating fifth seed Stephen Lee: “I hear players talking about giving up the game but they never do.”

And O’Sullivan is a case in point. Last night the Rocket suggested he might seek special dispensation from the game’s governing body to protect his elevated world ranking should he take time out from snooker in the New Year.

“There’s a lot of pain and anger going on in my life that I’m trying to deal with but I’m really struggling,” he said.

“A lot of it has to do with my dad; a lot of it has to do with my mum.

“I feel I am carrying it about like a rucksack and it’s weighing me down.

“The reason why Mark Williams has done so well is because he is a great player but also he’s mentally tough.

“That’s why Stephen Hendry has been a success over the years. I’d like to come back to snooker when I have sorted this all out.

“If the Board don’t want to do a deal then I’ve got a bigger decision to make.”

Hendry showed his resolve once again after Carter missed his opportunity for a fourth win in five meetings against the Scot.

“When I was 6-4 down I was really up against it. I’m just delighted to beat him for a change,” said Hendry.

“I’ll be giving Barry maximum respect because it’s the sort of match that I’ve tripped up in the past.

“If my head is not right and I come into the game flat then anything can happen,” said Hendry who lost an almost unprecedented six frames in a row during yesterday’s game.

“This next match is all about what’s between the ears.”

Hendry was another player who talked about quitting the sport after reaching his 30th birthday.

Now 34, he is playing virtually as well as ever, as he demonstrated against O’Sullivan in the recent British Open final.

Retirement isn’t an option though for White, 41, who meets 37-year-old Nigel Bond for a place in the semi-finals today.

“It’s hard to walk away from the game,” he said after beating Irishman Fergal O’Brien 9-7 last night.

“I love this game and I love competing. If I didn’t think I could play well and win I wouldn’t do it. But I do.”

Bond, once ranked fifth in the world, has also soldiered on in recent years as he’s fallen down the snooker ladder to number 40.

But he demonstrated against former world champion Ken Doherty and world number 16 Joe Perry that he can still play the game.

Bond, from Old Tupton in Derbyshire, also has an excellent record against the Whirlwind and won’t be overawed.

Today’s other quarter-final features good mates Paul Hunter and Matthew Stevens. The Welshman, who is set to become a dad for the first time next month, has even been staying with Hunter and his girlfriend during the tournament.

So, it’s a tough match for them to play as well as being a hard game to call between the world numbers eight and nine.

Stevens took the last three frames to deny Thailand’s James Wattana a quarter-final slot – reaching this stage for the fifth time in seven seasons.