Ronnie O’Sullivan argued with old rival Stephen Hendry just minutes after winning his World Snooker Championship quarter-final against Si Junhai. Despite a patchy performance, O’Sullivan won 13-9 after his Chinese opponent had threatened a comeback in the evening session, and will now play Zhao Xintong in the final four.
‘The Rocket’ is two wins away from winning a record-breaking eighth world title. He and Hendry share the Crucible marker with seven, although the Scot has frequently tipped O’Sullivan to become the outright holder. That’s despite the 49-year-old playing down his form throughout the tournament in Sheffield.
He continued his self-criticism after the Si win. Speaking in the BBC studio, the star also shot down Hendry when he tried to praise him for the crucial long pot that turned the 21st frame his way after Junhai had reduced the deficit to 11-9.
“I have missed the buzz of playing well,” claimed O’Sullivan, before pundit Hendry pointed out: “The last two frames were pretty good. That long red…”
A replay of the shot was then shown to O’Sullivan, with Hendry arguing: “I was saying if you had a safety shot on you would have played it. You have to cue well to hit it.”
The Englishman remained reluctant to accept the compliments, though. Saying that Si “had lots of chances,” he implied he constantly tinkered during the match to try and find form, adding: “I was just trying all sorts, holding the cue in a different place to try and get a feel, to try anything.”
O’Sullivan had previously beaten Ali Carter and Junxu Pang on his way to the last eight. Beating Zhao will mean a final against either Judd Trump or Mark Williams, and he argued he could not rely on his opponents’ misfiring from here on.
He said: “I have relied on other people to win, and that doesn’t feel good for me. You feel a lot better when you’ve won the match rather than they’ve lost it. Look at Judd and Mark Williams and Zhao, I won’t be able to get away with the standard I have played the last three matches at.”
