“He played really well, he deserved his victory.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan praised his opponent Alexander Ursenbacher after the snooker player, ranked number 66 in the world, knocked him out of the UK Championship.
The six-time world champion lost 6-5 to Ursenbacher at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on Sunday. O’Sullivan, however, had no excuses after his defeat and instead offered praise for his Swiss opponent.
O’Sullivan: The score flattered me. It should have been 6-1.
“I don’t think I’ve ever come off a match thinking ‘If I deserve to lose I’ve probably lost’ and that’s how I felt out there,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport after his defeat.
“I thought I did well to get five frames, the score flattered me. it should have been 6-1.
“I just dragged him down to my level, and he probably got to 5-4, and he probably thought he was playing the better snooker.
O’Sullivan also refused to blame fatigue on his shock exit from the UK Championships.
“I’m not making any excuses,” the six-time world champion said.
“He kind of kept giving me chances and I got back into it, but really he was much the better player.
“My performance just wasn’t good enough to beat someone that plays that well.”
O’Sullivan praises opponent after shock UK Championship exit.
“I’ll probably have to sleep on it and have a think about it because I don’t really know what happened out there other than I’m out,” O’Sullivan continued.
“I thought he was quite conservative today, I was more of the aggressor and he was trying to keep things tight.
“He swings, if he was a boxer, you’d have to be ducking all the time, because if one of them hits you it’s like bombs – he can play.”
Ursenbacher, meanwhile, said he backed himself to beat the six-time world champion ahead of their match.
“That was a very big test for me. I knew I could beat him in a best of 11 and I had absolutely nothing to lose so I had to fancy the job,” said the 24-year-old.
Ursenbacher will play Jamie Jones in the last-32 of the UK Championship.
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