Snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan believes he has now struck the right balance between snooker and enjoying quality time for himself.

The Rocket, who has delighted crowds with his swashbuckling style, has pondered quitting for the last five years, finding the hours of practice and tournament pressure unbearable.

O'Sullivan checked into a specialist clinic earlier this year suffering from depression, but now looks relaxed and is once again optimistic about his future.

He said: "I've been practising too much and not understood the importance of taking time out for myself. People like Stephen Hendry and John Higgins practice seven hours for six or seven days a week. It's worked for them, but not for me.

"I was often on the table around the clock, sometimes playing until after midnight, and just didn't have a life away from the table. I always felt, because the other top guys did it, I had to."

Now O'Sullivan has measured things up in his mind and there is a strong hint of maturity about this outstanding talent. Instead of having a series of practice sessions after defeating his idol Jimmy White on Monday, he went out to enjoy the Brighton sunshine.

Like all professionals, he has to live out of a suitcase for nine months as he travels around the globe competing in top tournaments.

"I just want to get some enjoyment back into my life," said the Essex-based star. "I heard Steve Davis say this is going to be a big season for Ronnie O'Sullivan, but it's not going to be a big season for me at all.

"There's no expectation in my mind. I'm lucky to be here because I was close to quitting. I just want to turn up to tournaments and give it my best shot.

"But at the same time, I've got a lovely girlfriend, smashing family and good friends and they will always come before snooker. They're not reaping the benefits from me when I'm not in the right frame of mind.

"I've been taking a nice break over the last few months and only started practising two weeks before coming to Brighton. I went to Spain on holiday for a week and enjoyed eating out and being in the company of some nice people.

"Now I want to take it gently and pace myself, because it's a long season and I don't want to overdo it."

This is O'Sullivan's ninth season as a pro and he has won the UK Championship twice, British Open, Asian Classic, German Open, Regal Scottish twice and China Open.

Although he hasn't lifted the world title, his ultimate ambition, O'Sullivan wooed the Crucible crowd when he compiled the fastest ever 147 in five minutes and 20 seconds against Mick Price during the 1997 event.

In fact, the aptly nicknamed Rocket has compiled four maximums during his professional career, three times setting new speed records.

His 140 break on Monday took just seven minutes, provoking a standing ovation from the sell-out Brighton Centre crowd.

O'Sullivan, much like Alex Higgins and Jimmy White, is a people's player and admits it's impossible for him to play any other way. He said: "If I stood there and pondered over a shot too much, I'd probably start seeing things that aren't there. The idea is to play the shots as you see them and keep it simple.

"Snooker is a simple game. Once you've been playing all these years, you know the shots better and if you're confident things are going to go well for you.

"You only need to look at Mark Williams. He's so confident that when he's 4-0 down in a best-of-nine he still fancies winning. You can't buy that attribute. He's earned it over the last two years with the tournaments he's won and has big faith in his ability to pull games out of the fire."

O'Sullivan, fourth in the world rankings, insists the days of one person dominating snooker are over. Davis was almost unbeatable in the 1980s and Hendry dominated the 1990s, but now there are half-a-dozen men all with a shout of reaching top spot.

Despite wanting to spend more time away from the table, O'Sullivan still has that strong desire to win the world title at the Crucible.

It's something he has dreamed about since he was a boy watching Davis and White on television.

"In an ideal world I'd want to be world champion, number one in the rankings and have a quality life away from the table," he said. "But you can't have it all, so you have to make a few sacrafices.

"Of course my ambition is to be best in the world, but it's going to have to happen on my terms and if it doesn't that's the way it'll have to be."