O'Sullivan ready for mental battle

O'Sullivan ready for mental battle

Rocket Ronnie is confident

Profile: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan plans to come off the anti-depressant drug Prozac after what he hopes will be a return to glory at the World Championship in Sheffield.

The snooker ace told BBC Radio Five Live he intends to take a break in Spain after the Championship, which begins on Saturday.

And he will use the time to wean himself off the medication, which he's been on for at least two years.

"With the doctor's help and my friend, we're going to go away and try to wean myself off it," said O'Sullivan, who is favourite to lift the title at The Crucible.

"I'm still taking it now and I've been on it for two years now. There's a friend of mine who wants to help me come off it.

I just get on with life now and I'm enjoying life

Ronnie O'Sullivan

"Hopefully, I can start the new season next year without any Prozac. But, if I have to, I'll stay on it because it hasn't done me any harm."

The Chigwell-based player's depression has been a well documented affliction, as has a great deal of his life, including his father's conviction and jail term for murder, as well as his recent spat with Mark Williams.

But O'Sullivan says he has put his problems behind him and is now looking more positively towards the future.

"Depression to me is an illness. I used to suffer from a lot of panic attacks and I couldn't put my finger on it to say what it was.

"Once I started taking medication, it started balancing things out a bit.

"I started seeing things more objectively. I just get on with life now and I'm enjoying life."

O'Sullivan goes to The Crucible oozing with confidence, having won two out of the last three tournaments.

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He clinched the European Open and Irish Masters in March before exiting the Regal Scottish Open in the third round earlier this month.

"The last three tournaments I played in, I said beforehand I'd like to win two and I managed to win two.

"The third one was a possibility, but deep in my mind I didn't want to over exhaust myself. I didn't prepare for the one in Edinburgh and I got beat.

"But I wasn't too disappointed. Obviously, the bigger picture is wanting to do well in Sheffield. I've geared myself up all season for this."

O'Sullivan will face Hong Kong's Marco Fu in the first round on Tuesday 22 April.