Snooker: Alan McManus thinking big after earning Crucible place
ALAN McMANUS clinched a first Crucible spot for seven years last night – and now wants to draw defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The 42-year-old from Glasgow, twice a semi-finalist at the blue-riband event 20 years ago, beat Leicester’s Tom Ford 10-5 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
And that third win of a tense week for McManus, after having already beaten India’s Aditya Mehta 10-9 and England’s Nigel Bond 10-8, puts him back on the big stage.
McManus won two ranking events in the Nineties, the Dubai Classic and the Thailand Open, but has slipped to world No50.
But he showed signs of a return to form two months ago at the Welsh Open, narrowly losing to fellow Scot Stephen Maguire in Newport.
He said: “Maybe masochistically, I would love to draw Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round, to have that centre stage and challenge.
“There will be an amazing atmosphere that first Saturday.”