O'Sullivan's in the right frame of mind

Ronnie O'Sullivan insists he is mentally prepared to be world champion for a fourth time.

The 36-year-old only has concerns about his form and a 10-4 first-round win over Peter Ebdon has not convinced O'Sullivan yet that he is playing well enough to triumph on May 7.

Working with sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters has fortified the Londoner for match play, and after seeing off Ebdon on Tuesday he said: "My attitude was good. It's been really good all season."

He went on: "Even though I've not been playing great I've not been beating myself up too much if things aren't going right for me.

"I've been working on that side of my game for the last year or so and that's important. I'm definitely much better mentally. My game's not brilliant, but at least my mind is allowing me to give 110% and get what I can out of matches, so I'm pleased with that side of things.

"If I win, then great, but if I don't it's not the be-all-and-end-all."

Judd Trump returns on Wednesday afternoon with a 5-4 lead over Dominic Dale, hoping to recover from a suspected bout of food poisoning which affected the performance of last year's runner-up in the opening session.

Andrew Higginson, from Widnes, caused an upset last on Tuesday night by knocking out world number eight Stephen Lee, who lost in the first round for the sixth successive year, this time by a 10-6 margin.

World number one Mark Selby, seeking his first Crucible title, was 6-3 behind against fellow English cueman Barry Hawkins, having been struggling with a back problem recently. Selby needs to find his best form on Wednesday evening, hard to envisage after limited practice, or an early exit beckons.