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| - Ronnie O'Sullivan praised Ding Junhui for not becoming a "snooker slave" but warned the Chinese star that he should be braced for world championship disappointment. The two players meet in an eagerly-awaited second round clash at the Crucible in Sheffield with 33-year-old Ding looking to eventually go one better than his 2016 runner-up spot. "If Ding looks at his career, he'll say he's probably got a great balance - he's been super successful on the table, but he hasn't been a slave to the sport," said O'Sullivan, a five-time world champion. "I'm a little bit in that bracket where I like to enjoy my life. There's always a trade-off. I like to be healthy, live a good lifestyle and that means I can't play in every tournament otherwise my lifestyle wouldn't be how I'd want it. "Ding probably falls into that category as well. He gets really excited by the really big tournaments, but probably doesn't want to be on the road 24/7. He drives his own car in many ways, and I respect that." Ding won the pair's last Crucible clash in the last eight in 2017 but O'Sullivan fears the Chinese star may never add a world title to his haul of 14 ranking crowns. "I'm sure he'd love to get his hands on the world title, but each year you get older, it gets harder," added O'Sullivan. "Some players can play well into their 40s like me and John Higgins and Mark Williams, but we're exceptions to the rule." dj
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