05 May 2008 22:29:00
Ronnie O'Sullivan declared that winning the 888.com
World Snooker Championship was his greatest buzz in snooker, and
hopes that he can add to his tally of three Crucible
crowns.
Match
report
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The Rocket completed an 18-8 defeat of Ali Carter tonight to become
only the third player – after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry – to
lift the trophy aloft three times at the Crucible.
"It’s a real buzz to win it. There is no bigger tournament, this is
our pinnacle, it’s our greatest stage,” said the 32-year-old from
Chigwell. "I’ve got three now and I would like to win more. I
wouldn’t like to put a number on it because that would be very
foolish of me. There are a lot of hungry players out who are also
very eager to lift this trophy. Hendry has won seven, Davis has won
six, so I’m half way to that total - but I’m not young.
"It’s almost a feeling of relief because I was at
unease with myself out there in the final, and it was just a case
of digging in. I did feel great in the first three frames of the
final and the last two frames. I think everybody had expectations
of me just blowing Ali away after I won my semi final so
well.
"Ali got to the final on merit. I used to practise with him, and
you get to know each others’ game inside out, and know what they
are capable of. So it can be harder to play someone you know,
rather than someone you have no history of.
"I knew I would play well in patches, so it was a case of being
patient and concentrating on my own performance and not looking at
the scoreboard. If Ali could have got closer I’m sure I would have
been able to respond, but at the end of the day it was a
professional performance, because a job needed to be done, and I
did it."
Carter, who was playing in his first ranking final, said: "I didn’t
play particularly well. I’m disappointed with my own performance
but I was really tired. It was a bit of a struggle for both of us
but his game is so strong, even when he’s struggling.
"I didn’t have anything left in the tank after a tough game against
Joe Perry. I haven’t had a night off or a day off and that probably
took it out of me. Next year, there’s always next year. At this
moment in time I don’t feel as if I’ve achieved what I wanted to
do, the only way I would have done that would be to win it. Getting
to the final is a great result and I’ll reflect on it in a couple
of weeks and be pleased with what I’ve done.
"I’m in the top eight in the world so next year it makes it a
little easier. Hopefully I can press on and go one better next
time."