Ronnie O'Sullivan makes retirement plans clear after thrashing Ali Carter at Crucible

offered an insight into his retirement plans after thrashing in his first match at the . The Rocket produced a dazzling display to secure a 10-4 victory over his old rival and reach the second round at the Crucible. He looked close to his brilliant best despite having not played a competitive match since January.

Carter had done well to reduce his deficit to just one frame by the end of Tuesday's opening session, but was no match for O'Sullivan when the match resumed. The seven-time world champion made his superiority count with a string of century breaks, with Carter unable to hit back. He wrapped up the match with a 131 clearance to ensure his progression into the next round.

Speaking to Sport afterwards, O'Sullivan revealed that he could play on for another five or six years if he keeps performing well at the table - despite having had a three-month break from the game before playing at the Crucible.

"This game has a way of humbling you in so many ways, where you might go a year of two years when your game isn't there and doubt creeps in," he said.

"This one is probably the hardest of all. I want to play as long as I can. If everything went great, I could probably get five or six years. If it doesn't, I'll commit to one or two years and give myself the opportunity to finish on a nice feeling."

Reflecting on the match, the 49-year-old insisted that he was free of nerves despite ending his three-month hiatus on the biggest stage of all.

"I had no expectations so there were no nerves," he explained. "I didn't expect to perform well based on the last three or four years. I just wanted to make a game of it.

"Ali had his chances yesterday. On another day he would be 6-3 up [after the first session], and again today he had a couple of chances. I cued a lot better than I did yesterday.

"I have some mental tools to work with to keep things tight. I will always tinker but it's about when to let go, I suppose. It ground me down. This game has a way of humbling you.

"I lost the buzz for the game. When you are not able to play the shots, I was having to bail out on a lot, I didn't have any range. I'm just trying to work my way back, rediscover some touch and feel."

Carter, meanwhile, was quick to admit that he was beaten by the better player despite being left slightly humiliated by the margin of his defeat.

"I think I was always in it at 5-4, but Ronnie got going and I just seemed to find myself in awkward positions," he reflected. "I split the pack a couple of times and missed a few blacks.

"It went from bad to worse and it begins to get a bit embarrassing out there, but when you're playing the greatest of all time it's not easy.

"It's not the end I wanted here but arguably Ronnie is the hardest draw in the first round, he's the one nobody wants to play. I drew him out of the hat and that's how it is."