RONNIE O'SULLIVAN honoured women’s No1 Mink Nutcharut with a classy gesture after their match at the International Championship.
O'Sullivan, 48, defeated Nutcharut, 24, 6-3 in Nanjing, China on Sunday after surviving a major scare.
The Rocket had to recover from losing the opening frame and a spirited comeback from the highest-ranked women's player in the world.
The Thai star won back-to-back frames to reduce her opponent's lead to 4-3 before he closed out the match.
The Wordsley star sealed victory with a 132 break as he booked his place in round two.
The two snooker stars shook hands at the end of the match as the crowd applauded him.
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And then O'Sullivan signalled to the fans to applaud his defeated opponent as well.
That led to a warm ovation for Nutcharut as well as praise for the British star.
The commentator said: "Very gracious, O'Sullivan asking the crowd to applaud Mink Nutcharut at the end. That's a nice way to finish."
O'Sullivan continued to praise Nutcharut after qualifying for the second round.
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The seven-time world champion insisted it was a "privilege" to face such a talented player.
O'Sullivan said: "An absolute privilege to play such a talented opponent.
"Thank you for the game and good luck in the future."