Alexander Ursenbacher explains sparkling record against snooker GOAT Ronnie O’Sullivan – ‘He gets the best out of me’

Alexander Ursenbacher will return to snooker Q School this week in a bid to regain his professional status after enduring a miserable time last season.

The talented Swiss player – dubbed ‘Federer of the Baize’ – won only eight matches in ranking events with half of those coming via the shorter format Championship League and Shoot Out competitions.

He slumped from 45th in the rankings at the end of the 2021/22 season to 87 a year later, with the fallout forcing him to head to Leicester in the quest to recapture a fresh two-year tour card.

His main highlight last year saw him complete a 4-1 victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round of the British Open in Milton Keynes.

Despite his recent toils, the former English Open semi-finalist enjoys a praiseworthy 3-1 lead against the snooker GOAT on their career head-to-heads, including a 6-5 success in the second round of the 2020 UK Championship.

“Maybe he should go out there and pretend he’s playing me,” said O’Sullivan during last year’s Northern Ireland Open.

The former European Under-21 champion would dearly love to find some of his old magic with 208 players competing for only eight tour cards at the Morningside Arena between Friday, May 26 and Tuesday, June 6.

“When I play Ronnie, he just makes me focus. I refuse to not have the perfect attitude and mindset against him. He was actually one of the only players I beat last season.

“I felt bad heading into the game, but five minutes beforehand on the practice table in Milton Keynes it was all gone. I was so motivated, because my mum and friend were there, to do well. It was just all clear for me.

“I have nothing to lose against him and I know I can do it. I can’t really explain it, but he just gets the best out of me.”

Ursenbacher, 27, has been practising with European Masters winner Kyren Wilson as he bids to sort out the mental block that curbed his natural fluency among the balls.

He last lost his tour card at the end of the 2015 campaign before recapturing his spot on the main circuit in 2017.

“I’ve had a lot of mental problems with my game. I’ve just had to sort my head out. I went from winning a few matches at every tournament and being as high as 41st in the world, to not being able to win a single match,” he said.

“I am always looking for a key to success and when I had this good form, I tried to find out how I did it. I wanted to be able to have something in my hands that I could use if things went badly. There is no such thing. Snooker is something you need to do naturally and automatically.

“It is like playing tennis or football in that regard. You don’t think, you just act. The trouble is that there is a lot of time to think in snooker. I got myself into a hole that I couldn’t get out of. You could set up a line-up for me and I wouldn’t even make 20. It was just ridiculous. I was thinking about my aiming all the time.

“Now I’ve dropped off the tour, the pressure has come off and I’m playing well again. That is because I’m not thinking about it. I’m just doing it. I realised there is nothing to think about.

“It’s funny because when I was at home, I got a bit drunk one day and just played. I actually played really well and I realised that it was because I wasn’t thinking about aiming or technique. I was just simply playing. I seem to be my old self again.

“I just need to put the hours in and I think I will do well.”

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