John Higgins wary of Crucible threat from wounded man Ronnie O'Sullivan

Published on Friday 16 April 2010 23:03

JOHN Higgins believes wounded pride will make Ronnie O'Sullivan a greater threat than ever heading into this year's Betfred.com World Championship.

Not only does Higgins proudly wear the badge of reigning Crucible champion, he has also jumped above O'Sullivan to secure the No1 ranking for next season. Higgins and O'Sullivan have three world titles each, and the race to a fourth is on between the pair, with only Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and Ray Reardon having won more in snooker's modern era.

Although Scotsman Higgins has edged ahead of his English rival, he has no doubt O'Sullivan will arrive in Sheffield with "a point to prove", having surrendered his title tamely when he lost to Mark Allen in the second round last year.

Higgins said: "I think he'll be more dangerous this year because people might not have the same expectation of him going into the championship. Last year everyone thought he was going to go on and win it, no problem again. It's maybe a bad thing in a way for all of us (that he failed to win) because he'll definitely have a point to prove."

With Higgins at the top of the draw and O'Sullivan at the bottom, they could again meet in the final this year.

O'Sullivan has tipped Higgins for the title, saying: "I think it will be an open championship but I think John, on his day, has probably got the best all-round game."

The first man to beat for Higgins, though, is Englishman Barry Hawkins.

In theory it represents the toughest possible draw for Higgins, given the top 16 cannot face each other in the first round and Hawkins is ranked 17th in the world. But in practice Hawkins should not cause him undue trouble today. In accordance with tradition the defending champion plays his first-round match on the opening day, and it would be a tremendous shock if Higgins were to lose so early on in the tournament.

"It will be a tough game; he's the highest ranked qualifier I could have got. But I'm looking forward to it," Higgins said.

Meanwhile, Crucible legend Hendry admits he knows "absolutely nothing" about Chinese teenager Zhang Anda as the pair prepare to clash in today's first round. Zhang, 18, caused a major surprise when he qualified for the tournament, and was then handed a dream draw against the seven-time world champion.

"It can be a bit of a banana skin, because you don't know how he plays," said the 41-year-old Hendry. "Is he an aggressive player? I'm sure he is because all the players are these days. But is he slow? Is he fast? Is his long-potting a speciality?"

&#149 Sheffield is set to be confirmed as the home of the Betfred.com World Championship until 2015. World Snooker has agreed a one-year extension to the deal announced during last year's Crucible tournament.