Luca Brecel has revealed he was suffering from an illness during his surprising first-round exit from the World Snooker Championships at the hands of David Gilbert.
The 2023 world champion looked set to comfortably progress to the next round after taking a 9-6 lead on the opening day of the tournament.
However, Brecel failed to get over the line with Gilbert going on to rack up four consecutive frames to knock the defending champion out.
The Belgian is the 19th first-time champion to fail to defend his title at the Crucible.
Speaking after the defeat, Brecel admitted to feeling 'really tired' in the evening session.
Luca Brecel was knocked out in the first round of the World Snooker Championship
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“It was not easy being ill, but I tried,” Brecel told Eurosport.
“Dave played well. He’s a fantastic player, and he deserves it. I hope he wins it.
"I never really settled; I never really felt good.
"I played some good stuff in batches, but I was really tired in the last session.
“It was difficult but I tried. I don’t think I could try any harder but it’s not an excuse.
"Everyone gets ill sometimes. It was a great match.”
When pressed on what he plans to do this summer, Brecel revealed he plans to take some time off from the sport.
"Work on my fitness most of all, trying to get back in shape," he added.
"For me, that’s the most important thing at the moment.
David Gilbert won the last four frames to progress
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"Snooker is second place so I hope I get at least stronger for next season but first, I need some time off."
Gilbert reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship back in 2019, but he failed to kick on from that feat.
The 42-year-old is now hoping his win over Brecel can be the start of a positive run.
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Luca Brecel plans to take some time off from the sport
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But Gilbert admitted to struggling to control his temper at stages during his match against the defending world champion.
“It’s been a while since I won a game in a proper arena so hopefully I can build on it,” said Gilbert.
“Even at 8-5 down I went into the dressing room with [my friend] Andy Lee and he had to dodge a few apples, bananas and biscuits flying around the room.
"I was angry, I was 8-5 down and I felt I should be ahead, but I did say to him, I’m getting chances and if I find my rhythm I could still win.”