Ronnie O'Sullivan blasts 'hardest conditions of my career' following retirement statement

Ronnie O'Sullivan has slammed table conditions at the Xi'an Grand Prix and labelled them as "probably the hardest" he has ever experienced in his career. O'Sullivan, 49, didn't appear fazed throughout, however, as he reeled off breaks of 63, 128, 53 and 54 to beat China's Yao Pengcheng 5-1 in a convincing first-round win.

But the Rocket was still unimpressed with the condition of the cloth on table two and called on snooker bosses to make frequent changes if they want to see a better standard. O'Sullivan, who is set to face Stephen Maguire in the last 32 on Thursday, said: "The conditions were so hard. Probably the hardest conditions I've ever had to play in.

"The balls won't open up, you can't screw back. The white just runs on forever. Cushions are bouncing."If they want to see some good snooker this week, I'd suggest they change the cloth every day because it's so damp.

"Virtually impossible to move the white around and open the balls up."

In response to O'Sullivan's statement, a WST spokesperson said: "The number of century breaks and 147s this season indicate that conditions have never been better across the tour.

"It's always a challenge to make conditions perfect in different territories across the globe, particularly in humid climates. We work closely with our partners and the players to make conditions as good as possible."

After winning his seventh match of the season, O'Sullivan opted to compare himself to tennis legend Roger Federer, golf superstar Tiger Woods and football sensation Lionel Messi. He also branded the support around the world as the best part about his career to date.

"Listen, I've been playing for 33 years now on the main tour," he added. "For any snooker fan around the world, I'm always going to have good support because of how I've played over the years.

"And I'm really grateful for that. I feel like that's probably been the best thing about my career. That I've had such good support from the fans.

"So it means I obviously play the game the way people like to watch it. You know, they want to be entertained.

"They want to go away watching something and kind of go, 'oh, I feel like I've got something from that'.

"I don't know what it is they get when they watch me play, but if it makes them feel good about themselves, then that means I feel good.

"Maybe it's a bit like when Tiger Woods used to play golf, a bit like when Federer played tennis, Messi plays football. People seem to get great enjoyment from it. So, I'm happy to be that guy."