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Ronnie O’Sullivan has been told that he is in a Roger Federer-style rivalry of his own with John Higgins and Mark Williams, as the trio’s time at the top of the sport has been compared to Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in tennis. The Swiss star recently retired at the Laver Cup, but the Rocket is still going strong after seven world championship victories.
He along with Higgins and Williams have 14 world titles between them, including eight in the last 15 years as O’Sullivan added another title to his collection by beating Marco Fu in front of 9,000 spectators at the Hong Kong Open final on Sunday, a record for the biggest live snooker crowd of all time. He defeated Neil Robertson to reach the final, who admitted that he feels “lucky” to have icons such as O’Sullivan and Higgins still in the sport.
“I’m very lucky that we have people like Ronnie and John still playing the game and still playing fantastic snooker,” Robertson told Eurosport. “Having two legends who turned professional in 1992 yet are still top of their game is remarkable. We are very lucky.
“I consider it very similar to tennis. I know Roger Federer has retired now, but with guys like Ronnie, John and Mark Williams it is very similar to the rivalry of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. We are very lucky to be part of that era and I’m very proud of myself in being able to compete and beat those guys on the biggest occasions and winning the biggest titles.
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“If the game took off in China and it got exciting and every tournament was a very, very good tournament then I’d be prepared to invest my time for the year,” O’Sullivan, 46, told the Metro last year. “And focus on being a very good snooker player. But I don’t see that happening.
“So, if I get another three World Championships, I’ve got a goal to keep me playing for at least another three World Championships.
“Once that comes, it might be a good time, I’ll be 49 then, it might be a good time to focus on other things I’ve got going on and just focus on them.”
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