Ronnie O’Sullivan gets back to winning ways at the World Grand Prix in Coventry… but admits he was almost late to his match with Andy Hicks because he was eating SCONES in a Marks & Spencer cafe!
- Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated Andy Hicks at the World Grand Prix in Coventry
- O’Sullivan only got to the venue 10 minutes before his match was due to start
- ‘The Rocket’ had been in a Marks & Spencer cafe where he enjoyed some scones
Ronnie O’Sullivan almost missed his World Grand Prix match with Andy Hicks as he was in a Marks & Spencer cafe enjoying tea and scones.
O’Sullivan was beaten 6-1 by John Higgins in the semi-finals of the Scottish Open last week and was looking to make a swift return for winning ways.
But it almost never got going for O’Sullivan as he can ‘never resist’ a detour to an M&S cafe if there is one close to a venue he is playing at.
Ronnie O’Sullivan almost missed his latest match as he ate scones in a Marks & Spencer cafe
He told ITV: ‘I only got to the venue about 10 minutes before the game today.
‘If there is a Marks & Spencer around with a cafe, I can never resist the scones with clotted cream and a cup of tea. I managed to arrive just in time.’
O’Sullivan did return to winning ways as he saw off Andy Hicks to reach the second round of the World Grand Prix in Coventry.
The Rocket, though, did not need to find top gear to come through against Hicks, making just one half-century break in the final frame to comfortably progress into round two, where he will face Hossein Vafaei.
The Iranian, who defeated O’Sullivan 5-0 at the German Masters last month, chalked up breaks of 119 and 62 as he beat Gary Wilson 4-1.
O’Sullivan (pictured in November) didn’t need to be at his best to go and defeat Andy Hicks
‘It was a nice crowd today and a great venue, it’s good to be here. When I started this run of tournaments, I just looked on it like a road trip,’ he added.
‘I have really enjoyed it. I have just had two days in a spa, getting treatments and massages.
‘I actually feel more tired for doing nothing, I am so relaxed it’s hard to get going. Hopefully after a day here I will liven up a bit.’
Elsewhere in the afternoon session, Scottish Open champion Luca Brecel missed out on the chance of a maximum as he defeated Northern Ireland’s Jordan Brown.
The Belgian scored a century break in the opening frame and 57 in the next then looked on for a 147 chance in frame three, but lost position on the 12th red on the way to a 4-1 victory.
Brecel will next meet Jimmy Robertson, who came through 4-2 against Matthew Selt.
Defending champion Judd Trump later suffered a second round exit against Tom Ford, who had beaten John Higgins in last round.
World No 2 Judd Trump was eliminated in the second round as he was beaten by Tom Ford
World No 2 Trump, who has not won a ranking title since March, took the opening two frames, but Ford responded with breaks of 133 and 65.
The match went to a deciding frame, which saw Trump miss the chance to wrap up victory with a missed black as Ford returned to the table to edge it 61-51 and secure a memorable result as he moved into the quarter-finals.
Neil Robertson made breaks of 108 and 74 as he beat Anthony Hamilton 4-1, and the Australian will next meet Yan Bingtao, who coasted to a 4-0 win over Martin Gould.
Wednesday’s late match saw world number one Mark Selby come through 4-2 against Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen, making two half-century breaks. Selby goes on to play Ford in the last eight.