Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed he was "not surprised" following his dramatic whitewash at the hands of Junhui Ding in the quarter finals of the UK Snooker Championship.
After cruising into the last eight, the top seed was the heavy favourite to overcome Ding and keep his bid for an eighth UK title on track. But in an incredible turn of events, it was the world No 38 who seared through 6-0.
It's the first time that O'Sullivan has been on the receiving end of a whitewash at a triple crown event. And the nature of the loss was ironic, given before the clash he'd issued a damming assessment of rival players, saying "I don't think anyone has it" in pressure events.
Immediately after the match, 'The Rocket' admitted he wasn't 'surprised' by the defeat, and also heaped praise on his Chinese opponent: "He played well. He played brilliantly well," O'Sullivan told Eurosport.
"I hope he goes onto win it now. He just proved what a fantastic player he is. I'm not surprised. I've had a good run, I can't complain. I've got a bit of time off now."
Ding meanwhile, hailed his extra time on the practice tables after notching one of the biggest results of his career: "I've been working hard over the past two years," he said. "They (the Chinese players) push me to work harder. Will keep trying and doing the same thing."
The defeat ends a tempestuous week for the world No 1, who on the eve of the tournament raised doubts over his future in the sport by admitting he no longer enjoyed playing. He also vowed to snub the cash prize if he made a maximum 147 break, claiming the £15,000 on offer was insufficient.
He was then the subject of a scathing verbal attack from rival Shaun Murphy, who accused the star of being a bad ambassador for the game. O'Sullivan seemed unfazed by his words though, and was nonchalant in his response.
"See that water just rolling off my back?” he said. “I won’t be replying. I don’t read newspapers, I’m not interested in what anybody’s got to say about me. Absolutely vacated a long time ago."
