Joe Perry knows the scale of the challenge that lies ahead of him but the world number 15 is relishing his Dafabet World Championship second round showdown with Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The Englishman managed to find his rhythm on Monday as he won six consecutive frames to come from 6-3 down to get past Jamie Bennett.
Perry won’t be able to afford a slow start against reigning champion O’Sullivan when the pair meet on Thursday, with ‘The Rocket’ the heavy favourite to go all the way in the tournament once again this year.
The 39-year-old Perry was pleased with his performance against Bennett but knows he will have to at his best to challenge O’Sullivan in the second round.
He said: “I’m pleased with myself. I dug in and stuck with it. I don’t think I played overly bad yesterday, it was just that Jamie punished me for my mistakes. I knew if I got chances I’d have to make more of them.
“It doesn’t get any tougher than Ronnie O’Sullivan, but, saying that, I would have been absolutely gutted to be sat at home watching Jamie play him.
“We all have to believe that we can win. If we play our absolute best and cut out the errors, and he isn’t at his best, then he’s beatable.”
A strong start will be important for Perry who is 2.61 to win the first frame and 6.88 to cause the biggest upset of the Dafabet World Snooker Championship by knocking out the favourite O’Sullivan over the 25 frames.
Leave a comment
Link Dafabet