Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan, who once threatened to quit the sport when he was 18, now insists he could be potting balls at the top level beyond his 40th birthday and is determined to add to his solitary world title victory.

O'Sullivan first claimed he would hang up his cue the year after becoming the youngest winner of a ranking tournament, aged just 17. There have been similar suggestions for almost the last decade, but the 27-year-old world number one said yesterday: "I feel like I'm in good physical and mental health for the first time in about three years. I'm not going to make myself miserable over snooker again. I can handle it now, so maybe I'll have another 10 years at the top. Maybe it will be 15 or 20 years.

"You just don't know whether my game will suit the longer distance. But I want to be in this game for as long as I possibly can," added the Londoner ahead of his opening match in the World Championship.

O'Sullivan is favourite to regain the trophy he held in 2001, with Hong Kong's Marco Fu providing the opposition in what should be an attractive first round match.

Fu will be a good test for the "Rocket" but should not prevent him qualifying for the last 16.

O'Sullivan has been in outstanding form during the second half of the campaign, winning the European Open in Torquay and then the Irish Masters against John Higgins.

An early exit from the Scottish Open in Edinburgh has not dented his confidence and he is better prepared than ever for the 17-day marathon at the Crucible.

"I've listened to people like Andre Agassi say he only practises his tennis an hour a day, and I chose to believe that. I thought I wouldn't have to practice five or six hours a day, but that's rubbish. People like Agassi and Tiger Woods don't just do an hour a day; they work, and that's why they're the best.

"I'd put (Stephen) Hendry and (Steve) Davis on the same level as Woods, (Pete) Sampras and (Michael) Schumacher. They are one-off people who come along every so often. I'm not one of them, I'm a little bit too inconsistent to be that. Maybe I'm on the same level as someone like Eric Cantona."

First round draw (best of 19 frames, starting today): P Ebdon (England) v G Greene (Ire); R O'Sullivan (England) v M Fu (Hong Kong); M Williams (Wales) v S Pettman (England); J Higgins (Scotland) v I McCulloch (England); K Doherty (Ireland) v S Murphy (England); S Hendry (Scotland) v G Wilkinson (England); S Lee (England) v S Davis (England); M Stevens (Wales) v C Small (Scotland); P Hunter (England) v A Carter (England); J White (England) v J Wattana (Thailand); M King (England) v D Henry (Scotland); G Dott (Scotland) v R Milkins (England); J Perry (England) v S Storey (England); Q Hann (Australia) v J Parrott (England); A McManus (Scotland) v N Bond (England); J Swail (Northern Ireland) v T Drago (Malta)