Ronnie O’Sullivan completed an impressive comeback to reach the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters with a 6-5 victory against China’s Zhang Anda. After saying he needed to perform better than his last performance, O’Sullivan will not have been happy to have found himself 3-0 down, but he fought back in style to take victory in a deciding frame. Watch all the action on discovery+.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is through to the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters after an epic comeback victory against China’s Zhang Anda.
O’Sullivan eased through his first match in Riyadh with a 5-1 victory against Lei Peifan but criticised his performance and was aiming for an improved display to reach the quarter-finals.
Zhang Anda beat England’s Ben Woollaston 5-0 in the last round and returned to the table with the same confidence he showed in that victory.
Despite a solid opening break of 38 from O’Sullivan, an unflustered Zhang retaliated by potting with ease for a break of 71 to take the first frame.
Zhang then got himself into play at the start of the second frame with a long red and kept himself at the table with confident, measured shot decisions which resulted in a break of 77 to move into a 2-0 lead.
O’Sullivan sensed he would have a chance at the table in the third but, as he rose from his seat after seeing Zhang fluff his lines on a long red, he could only watch as a fellow red fluked its way into the top pocket.
O’Sullivan returned to the table to leave Zhang with work to do on a long red, but his in-form opponent duly obliged to pot in style before proceeding to take a 3-0 lead.
Zhang had been near perfect so far, but a missed red in the fourth allowed O’Sullivan the chance to find rhythm at the table for the first time in the match.
The seven-time world champion put on a fine 64 to take his first frame just before the interval.
O’Sullivan completed his comeback with back-to-back centuries with a second successive 109 to level the match.
After shipping three straight frames, Zhang responded well by tidying up loose reds to build a healthy lead in the seventh.
Hitting the wrong red when trying to pot to the right middle, O’Sullivan presented Zhang with an opportunity to take the frame and he gratefully accepted with a break of 54.
