England's Ronnie O'Sullivan ponders during his match against Thailand's James Wattana at the 2006 World Snooker China Open held at Beijing University Students¡¯ Gymnasium in Beijing, capital of China, March 22, 2006. O'Sullivan lost the game 0-5. (Xinhua photo)

High-flying world ranking No.1 Ronnie O'Sullivan was grounded in the first round of the Snooker World China Open here on Wednesday.

Although received the most passionate applause by the Chinese fans, O'Sullivan was whitewashed 5-0 by Thailand's James Wattana to continue his losing trend as he has not won a ranking tournament match since last October.

It took Wattana, twice ranking tournament champion, less than two hours to claim the victory.

Wattana won the opening frame 120-14 with an 85 points break, followed by a 91 break to take the second 91-6.

O'Sullivan, chasing his first China Open title, tried to gear up in the third frame, but only to see Wattana win 65-7 and lead the game 3-0.

Thailand's James Wattana smiles during the 2006 World Snooker China Open held at Beijing University Students¡¯ Gymnasium in Beijing, capital of China, March 22, 2006. Wattana beat England's Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-0. (Xinhua photo)

O'Sullivan reached the Grand Prix final last October but was beaten in the first round of the UK Championship and Welsh Open.

The following two frames were more easier for Wattana as he took the frame 71-16 and 72-25 to send the world number one out.

"I didn't expect that," said Wattana, "I thought I could beat him, but not 5-0. "

"I don't think Ronnie was in the right frame of mind and that gave me an advantage. He seemed a bit lost," added Wattana.

O'Sullivan's failure to make an impact in the events which count towards the composition of the ranking list means he starts out in Beijing third on the provisional standings.

However, the failure in China will cause him keeping falling inthe world provisional rankings. His defeat to Wattana means he hasto win next month's World Championship to keep his first ranking for another season.

"The ranking tournaments are very important. I don't want to give up the No.1 place but it looks like it has gone now," said a frustrated O'Sullivan after the match.

World No.12 Alan McManus was beaten 5-2 by Stoke's Jamie Cope also on Wednesday, while World No.3 Stephen Maguire suffered a 5-3defeat to Ricky Walden, who reached the quarter-finals of last year's China Open.

Editor: Donald