Ronnie O’Sullivan is giving maximum respect to Yuan Sijun as he prepares for a Welsh Open showdown with the Chinese teenager.

Sijun has been grabbing the headlines recently, scoring wins over John Higgins, Mark Williams and Stephen Maguire over the previous fortnight in ranking events.

The prodigious youngster notched four half-century breaks as he swept aside Allan Taylor 4-0 in his opening game at the Motorpoint Arena and will now face ‘The Rocket’ in the last-64 on Wednesday afternoon.

Five-time world champion O’Sullivan is wary of his talented young opponent.

“I’m certainly not looking any further than the next round. My next match is tough, against a young Chinese player who has been beating everyone, so it will be a good result if I can win that one,” he said.

O’Sullivan, meanwhile, suggested “all-out attack is sometimes the best form of defence” after he came from behind to overcome Sanderson Lam 4-2 in his Cardiff opener. Trailing 2-1, the Englishman reeled off three frames in a row with top breaks of 95 and 116 to book his passage.

That included the 992nd century of his career, though O’Sullivan had already missed out on a ton in bizarre fashion. Referee Brendan Moore had not replaced the pink on its spot when O’Sullivan stroked in the final red in frame four, resulting in the official calling a foul on the colour and awarding a six-point foul to Lam instead.

Four-time Welsh Open winner O’Sullivan remains committed to attacking as much as possible.

“Attacking is my style of play and it has got me this far over many years. You have to stick to what you know best. It might look reckless but I still fancy getting most of those shots,” he added.

Sijun can be backed at 4.50 to add O’Sullivan to his list of big-name wins on Wednesday, while the tournament favourite is 3.40 to win the match 4-1.