Telegraf exclusive: Ronnie O'Sullivan invites Djokovic to a game of snooker: "He's the best in tennis history"

The legendary snooker player then stressed his desire to bring Novak to the snooker table, to see what he is made of when it comes to that sport

Suffice it to say - Ronnie O'Sullivan. It says it all. It literally says it all. A man who has been ruling the world of snooker for decades, a champion whose name will be inscribed in sports with some letters worth more than gold. In an exclusive interview for Telegraf, he shared many of his experiences from the green table, the greatest possible successes, but he also "arranged" one big clash with - Novak Djokovic!

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"Yes, Novak Djokovic!," was the first thing Ronnie said when we mentioned that we are from Serbia.

"You have to admire Djokovic. He is the best player of all time and will win the most Grand Slams in the history of tennis. There are also Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the three of them are a sporting phenomenon. If we compare Novak and myself, we have different styles of play, I am more like Federer. Roger has self-confidence, but Novak is more of a mixture of styles and he has it all in him," O'Sullivan started his interview for Telegraf, that was realized via Eurosport.

"Here you have Roger, Rafa's over there... Novak is in the middle, he has a part of Roger and he has a part of Rafa in him. He must be recognized as an amazing player with an incredible talent. We always knew that he would be special, but when he started with the diets and when he raised the game to the next level, it was the right thing to do," said O'Sullivan.

The legendary snooker player then stressed his desire to bring Novak to the snooker table, to see what he is made of when it comes to that sport.

"It's okay to win one, two, three Grand Slams, to have a few good years, but these guys have been here for two decades, that makes them great. And yes, if Novak is ready to play a few shots of snooker with me, he can always call me!"

But, what if Djokovic invites you to a game of tennis?

"Of course! I'm good at tennis. I'm sure I'm better at tennis than Novak is at snooker," O'Sullivan said.

The World Snooker Championships starts on April 16 in Sheffield, fans will have the opportunity to watch all the events on Eurosport, and we asked Ronnie if there is a future for snooker in Serbia.

"Snooker has changed in the last 15 years, it was something that had a strong base in Great Britain, and now you have several players from China, Thailand, Australia, Ukraine, Russia... From all parts of Europe and the world. Lots of new faces in tournaments, but it's nice to see. I still haven't seen anyone from Serbia, maybe it would be good to send a few of them to train to become champions one day."

- You made yourself into a great sport brand, what is it like when everyone in your sport wants to beat you?

"In fact, it's easier for me, because you know what to expect. When you go out there, you know that you have to play your best, because you know that everyone will do their best against you. I say to myself, 'Get out there and enjoy the game', but that would be unprofessional and then I try to play the best I can. I have self-confidence that I developed over the years, to prepare for anyone who comes up against me. The most important thing to me is that I enjoy the challenge."

- What do you think of the idea of ​​a snooker match in a big, football stadium, with football atmosphere?

"I played some matches with four or five thousand people present, an incredible atmosphere for the game. Snooker is a 'quiet' sport, like tennis, the referee silences you, it might not work. Probably with 10,000 spectators, civilized people who control their behavior, maybe they could watch a match. Maybe we could try something like that, and maybe we could make the table bigger so that everyone can see what it's all about," O'Sullivan said.

(Telegraf.rs)