After asking Ronnie O’Sullivan about his performances at the Scottish Open, John Higgins made fun of him.
John Higgins maintained that the criticism of the Wizard of Wishaw in recent years was the fault of Ronnie O’Sullivan. After fending off a comeback to secure his spot in the tournament’s last four, the 48-year-old overcame Tom Ford 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the Scottish Open.
A common complaint of the five-time World Snooker Championship winner, Higgins, is that his form has declined over the last two years. O’Sullivan believes that his opponent has not been able to win when he is not playing at his best. Higgins persevered against Ford when his lead appeared to be in jeopardy.
Higgins surged ahead early to take a commanding 3-0 lead, but in the fourth frame, Higgins missed a straightforward red, and things started to go Ford’s way. Higgins overcame the 40-year-old’s comeback to lead 3-3, winning the next two sets to set up a semifinal matchup with Noppon Saengkham.
O’Sullivan, who questioned his opponent for Eurosport following the game, believes that Higgins will exhibit similar tenacity more frequently. “Are you feeling okay? Are you alright? I was just mentioning that I usually watch your matches and you always look like you’re flying until you have a bad game and lose.
When you were at your best years ago, you would win a substantial portion of your matches.
However, Higgins felt that the only reason why such criticisms have been made against him is because he is constantly compared to O’Sullivan. The Rocket recently won the UK Championship and has shown no signs of slowing down, but Higgins reminded him that is not the norm.
