Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan admits he feels 'horrible' when he performs below his usual high level.
The 48-year-old has made it through to his 15th Masters semi-final but has opened up on his personal struggles.
O'Sullivan was far from his best in his quarter-final clash against Barry Hawkins on Thursday.
The Rocket trailed 3-2 at one point but pulled it out of the bag to win 6-3 at Alexandra Palace.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has opened up on his struggles
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O'Sullivan is aiming to win the Masters for a record-extending eighth time.
However, he has been very critical of his own performance since overcoming Hawkins.
Speaking to Eurosport, he gave a sarcastic response to how he was feeling.
He said: "Amazing, great. Fantastic, really happy."
O'Sullivan then opened up on how it feels when he performs well below the standards he knows he can reach.
He gave a stark verdict, admitting he has felt the same whenever he has struggled throughout his career.
He added: "Awful, horrible. Hard game, it just shows you it's a tough game.
"I've found it pretty tough all my life, to be honest with you."
He went into more depth with the BBC on the particular struggles he faced against Hawkins on Thursday.
He commented: "I must have gone through another 25 cue actions.
"I managed to find one that seemed to be okay and I started to feel like I maybe could pot a few balls and that settled me down a little bit. Funny old game.
"I wasn't going to turn anything down. If it was on, I was going to go for it."
O'Sullivan will have to pick himself up and return to Ally Pally on Saturday for a semi-final against either Shaun Murphy or Jack Lisowski.
He revealed he has been struggling with a cold in recent weeks.
He also reckons his busy recent schedule has had an impact on his form.
O'Sullivan said: "Maybe I've played a lot since September.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan has made it through to the quarter-final
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"For me I've played a lot, travelled a lot. I've played a lot.
"Backwards and forwards from China, which takes it out of you.
"Trying to do everything can be hard and I think you can, especially at my age, it can take a little bit out of you.
"I don't know, I'm just trying to give you answers here, I still don't know the answer.
Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Barry Hawkins 6-3 at Ally Pally
"I feel alright. I think like everybody else in this country I've had a cold for about four weeks, lost my hearing as well in China.
"So not been too well but I think everybody's been like that."
