Ronnie O'Sullivan opponent Jamie Clarke breaks silence following Rocket's shock Welsh Open withdrawal

Jamie Clarke admits he's disappointed by Ronnie O'Sullivan's Welsh Open withdrawal because he doesn't know if he'll get a chance to play the Rocket again.

Seven-time world champion O'Sullivan announced that he had pulled out of the tournament just four hours before he was due to play Clarke in Llandudno, leaving fans worried. The Rocket had withdrawn from the Masters in a similar style, just 48 hours before he was due to play Wizard of Wishaw John Higgins, fuelling rumours that he could be about to retire. That came after a difficult Championship League, where he snapped a cue and kicked a table before quitting.

It comes as a boost to world No.65 Clarke as he gets a bye to the second round, but the Welshman admitted there was some disappointment at not getting the chance to challenge one of snooker's greats. He told the BBC: "There was a part of me that was relishing the opportunity, maybe about 20 percent of me was disappointed because he's coming to the end of his career, and you don't get many chances to play Ronnie.

"He picks and chooses his events, and rightly so, but I was probably more happy than not happy. Although it would've been nice to play him. I've been putting a lot of work in, been practising a lot with Jamie Jones and had a new games with Liam Davis over the last month especially since the new year. I've been putting in the hours, doing a lot of best of sevens. I went to the qualifiers full of confidence. But you can never tell if you'll be able to take playing well in practice out there."

Asked about how much he enjoyed playing in his home tournament, Clarke added: "When Jamie (Jones) and I are both in a tournament we can go for dinner, go for a coffee and we can both push each other on. When you're