Emotional rollercoaster for Carter

7:38am Wednesday 7th May 2008

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ALI Carter described his display at the 888.com World Snooker Championships as an emotional rollercoaster'.

The Colchester-born potter battled through to the final - only to lose 18-8 against red-hot favourite and fellow Essex star Ronnie O'Sullivan.

It was Carter's first ranking final - pocketing him £125,000 - and he also thrilled spectators with a maximum 147 during his fortnight at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Speaking as he travelled back home to Chelmsford, Carter, 28, told the Gazette: "It was a brilliant experience - a real emotional rollercoaster.

"I'm shattered now and can't wait to catch up on some sleep, but overall I was delighted with the way it went.

"I felt good right from the first game and played very well. It was just a pity I ran out of steam in the final.

"Everyone was so supportive during my time up there.

"I had family and friends in the crowd and got so many phone calls and text messages."

Carter, who grew up in Tiptree and also lived in Tollesbury, kicked off his campaign by beating Barry Hawkins and followed it up with successes against former champions Shaun Murphy and Peter Ebdon.

He then locked horns with Cambridge's Joe Perry in a thrilling semi-final, eventually triumphing 17-15.

That set up a mouth-watering clash against former training partner O'Sullivan and Carter, 28, said: "My semi-final was a real marathon and mentally draining.

"I've hardly had any sleep in the last few days because the adrenaline was pumping so much.

"I was constantly thinking about how I'd played, the state of the game between sessions and what I had to do when I got back to the table.

"It was very gruelling and I felt tired during the final.

"I made a mistake in the first frame and before I knew it I was 3-0 down.

"You just can't afford to let that happen against such a quality opponent as Ronnie."

Carter is now heading out to China next week to play an exhibition match alongside Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and Marco Fu.