Against Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry reveals a unforgivable errors that rival snooker players continue to make.
Wins at the UK Championship and Masters have given the world No. 1 one of his best seasons to date. He won the World Grand Prix in spectacular fashion after winning the Masters.
O’Sullivan had been undefeated in 15 World Snooker Tour matches, going back to the International Championship in China in November, going into his opening match at the Players Championship. He faced Yuelong in the first round, and the latter quickly took O’Sullivan to task.
O’Sullivan won the next four frames to go to the quarterfinals, but the match was tied at two sets before the break. In the last round, Yuelong missed a simple green, which gave O’Sullivan the opportunity to win easily.
Following the match, Hendry expressed his belief that O’Sullivan’s standing in the game prevents the 26-year-old and his fellow countrymen from performing at their best. “There’s no doubt about it, a lot of the Chinese players give Ronnie far too much respect,” Hendry said on ITV.
“This [missed green] is why I said he knows he’s playing someone who can’t beat him. “Zhou Yuelong simply faltered and left the contest, which is unfortunate because it’s not good enough to start a match and then have to compete throughout.
“A lot of these Chinese players never stop telling you that Ronnie’s their hero, they’ve got to get that out of their mindset if they’re going to start challenging. “Zhou Yuelong becomes weaker while Ronnie continues to do what he does, going through the motions and getting better.”
Although he continues to be successful, O’Sullivan has cut a desolate figure this season, as if the grind is wearing him out. Insisting that his primary attention was elsewhere, he appeared indifferent to his victory at the Players Championship.
In O’Sullivan’s words, “For me, it’s just a day out.” “To be honest, I just like to get away from home, stay at an Airbnb, work out, run, and squeeze in a few frames of snooker as a kind of paid practice.”