Ronnie O’Sullivan was at his unstoppable best as he whitewashed Xiao Guodong 5-0 in the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix on Thursday. The ‘Rocket’ needed just 55 minutes as he dismantled his Chinese opponent, missing just seven pots and rattling off four century breaks as he steamrolled into the semi-finals at Preston’s Guild Hall.
O’Sullivan was delighted with his performance although he was also tinged with an element of frustration as he feels he should be able to play at that level on a more consistent basis. “I do sometimes praise myself and that was a very good match. I can play like that quite a lot of the time, so you can understand when I don’t play like that why I get frustrated,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport. O’Sullivan is chasing his fourth ranking event title of the season and he has put his recent impressive displays down to looking after himself better away from the table. He added: “I’ve been working with a nutritionist and I feel like I’ve got more energy and feel a lot healthier.”
The 42-year-old will face Stephen Maguire in the last four on Friday after the Scot defeated Shaun Murphy 5-2 in the night’s other quarter-final. O’Sullivan is priced at 1/4 to win while Maguire is available at 14/5.