Ding Junhui hails ‘special’ Ronnie O’Sullivan for ability to deliver under pressure after Masters defeat

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s ability to deal with the pressure of elite snooker makes him “special”, said The Rocket’s beaten opponent Ding Junhui after the pair met at the Masters.

Speaking to Eurosport’s Rachel Casey afterwards, Ding said: “In the [last] few weeks I’ve spent the most time I’ve spent with him in my career.

“I think he still wants to win everything. Sometimes, [there’s] too much pressure.

“But his talent plays, he knows how to do it. I’ve never got [to] that level yet.

“The top players like him, he always knows how to play with the pressure, how to play with the bad days, bad situations between the matches, he knows how to cover it.

“That’s how special [he is].”

O’Sullivan looked on supreme form at points during Monday’s meeting with Ding, and hit two centuries himself as he secured his progression.

The Rocket revealed how he had found top gear after struggling beforehand in practice.

In the Eurosport studio, O’Sullivan said: “It was alright. I just try and come out every match now and just play the balls, play each frame, just try and be as professional as I can, be resilient as much as I can.

“Just try and make the opponent work for it as much as I can, and if the result goes my way, great, if it doesn’t, then get on for the next tournament.

“I’ve become quite robotic about stuff really.”

He added: “I felt relaxed, I wasn’t worried at any point. I was worried this morning when I was on the practice table when I was carving everything up all over the gaff.

“You get a bit worried then, but when you come out into the match, sometimes you’re forced to find something, a feeling, or whatever it is you’re looking for to allow you to play.”

O’Sullivan is set to take on either Neil Robertson or Barry Hawkins in the quarter-finals.