people from their cars and some people had to spend the night in community centres. and there are still weather warnings to come. now on bbc news amol rajan interviews the man playing for his eighth uk snooker title, ronnie 0 sullivan. ronnie o sullivan is generally regarded as the greatest player ever to pick up a snooker cue. a son of essex, he s broken record after record and he s as exciting away from the table as he is on it. a child prodigy, he became the youngest player to ever win the uk championships. he s compiled more century breaks than any other professional. cheering and applause commentator: i mean, the boy is such a genius, he really is. ..and his unbeaten 147 time of five minutes and eight seconds is one of the most famous moments in all sporting history. what a break! what a fantastic maximum break that is! in 2022, he went after stephen hendry s record of seven world championship titles. he ll have dreamed of this moment, equalling. but what is the true
maximum break that is! in 2022, he went after stephen hendry s record of seven world championship titles. he ll have dreamed of this moment, equalling. but what is the true price of victory for him? o sullivan has battled addiction to alcohol and drugs, fought a continuing battle with his mental health and, at 16, had to overcome an unimaginable trauma his father sent to prison for murder. but overcome it, he has. today, the father of three is still the number one player in the world uncowed and outspoken. i don t get appreciated on the snooker circuit. none of the top players do, in my opinion. how did the rocket, as he came to be known, stay at the top of the game? and where are he and snooker going next? ronnie. good to see you. how are you? you all right? come and take a seat. thanks for inviting us over. it s all right, mate. this is where the magic happens, is it? sometimes. how do you choose which table you go? that used to be my favourite one, when i first start
figuring it out and quickly. we came to this championship having won the queens court title. what else is happening in the men s draw? we have seen daniel medvedev who is through after beating his opponent in four sets. and medvedev dropped the first but winning the second, third and fourth and is enjoying it a lot more on the surface which has not been the case previously. medvedev s best at wimbledon was 2021 when he reached for. it was not here as part of the russian belarusian band. in the past he told us he hates playing on grass but he is liking it more as he is feeling more at home on the surface and he will be targeting, after a big win here is a good grass court player. job done for daniel medvedev, another one of the contenders in the men s draw. jock of h, the overwhelming favourite, who could challenge him? could it be
championship.- what is in store for this championship. what is in store for this chamionshi -. ~ ., , championship. well, the opening ceremony has championship. well, the opening ceremony has been championship. well, the opening ceremony has been going - championship. well, the opening ceremony has been going on - championship. well, the opening i ceremony has been going on behind me this evening and the world championships. they are so different to anything that has happened before because they have been held in the same city, paris, where paralympics will happen next year and it is so unusualfor an will happen next year and it is so unusual for an organising committee to be able to test an event on this scale. i mean, this is the biggest event on the calendar since tokyo in 2021. some are going to be able to see if things can go well but also things go wrong. also, it is a great chance for them to be able to gauge the interest of the public here in france from what they want from
against the defending champion, the women s third seed who has got that powerhouse serve and of course that incredible forehand as well. she is coming to these championships, remember, with a virus. she withdrew from the french open and has had her struggles. she has dropped that s already at championship so she is vulnerable and boulter might try to target. coming into wimbledon having won her maiden title with that victory in nottingham feeling very confident. 26 years old now. that match is last up on centre court. talking of centre, why don t we take you to centre at the moment? i do not have eyes on exactly what is happening but i know that the first set was 6 3. this would be a surprise bearing in mind that she reached the final and was beaten.