In the wake of his surprise first-round exit at the World Snooker Championships, Ronnie O'Sullivan has revealed that he is quite "under the weather."
Facing the non-ranking James Cahill in the opening round, O'Sullivan crashed out 10-8 in a disappointing manner in Sheffield's Crucible this afternoon.
"I felt a bit under the weather," O'Sullivan stated, "my legs are like lead and my arms feel really heavy."
O'Sullivan's poorest performance at snooker's landmark event in 16-years, he was careful to stress the sincerity of his illness.
"I'm not making any excuses, but I just feel absolutely exhausted," said O'Sullivan.
"I tried to do as much as I could, tried to hang in there and somehow manage to get through the match.
Questioned whether he had the flu, or had simply succumbed to the travails of a busy period, O'Sullivan half-laughed off the suggestion.
"You can hardly say busy," O'Sullivan noted of his schedule, "if you're comparing people being busy, there's a lot of players than I have and they're feeling a lot better."
Faced with questions pertaining to where this defeat stands in terms of snooker's greatest upsets, O'Sullivan was keen to view the loss in a broader context.
"[Steve] Davis got beat in the first-round, I think [Stephen] Hendry's had a first-round, I'm sure John Higgins has and I'm sure Mark Williams has," O'Sullivan reasoned, "but that's snooker, it's sport, just the way it goes."
Just "one of those things," you can watch O'Sullivan's full interview here.
Meanwhile, Cahill was reflecting on his momentous win, and what may yet remain for him at this tournament.
"I could barely stand up at the end," Cahill told BBC Sport, "I am not really sure what to say."
"I scored a good pressure 70 to go 6-5 up and after that I felt like he was the one under pressure. He didn't want to lose to me.
"I have always believed in myself and that I can beat anyone on my day. I want to show what I can do now."
After overcoming Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first-round of this year's Championship, James Cahill can now look forward to a second-round match-up in the coming days.
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