Snooker great Stephen Hendry has revealed that Ronnie O'Sullivan's pre-match comments ahead of their 2002 World Championship semi-final left him feeling 'angry' and 'let down', despite the pair now enjoying a close friendship.
Hendry's Reaction to O'Sullivan's Remarks
Speaking on his Cue Tips YouTube channel, Hendry recalled the incident that turned their semi-final into a grudge match. The seven-time world champion said he was in his room on the morning of the match when a driver showed him a newspaper interview in which O'Sullivan made disparaging remarks about him.
O'Sullivan, the reigning champion at the time, had said: "The most satisfying thing for me would be to send him home to Scotland as quickly as possible for a nice summer off. I'll say hello to him because it's hard to ignore someone, but he's not my cup of tea." He added: "I know if I do get beat and he comes up and does a moonie in front of me and goes, 'Nah nah nah,' I'll just look at him and say, 'Well done, go back to your sad little life.'"
Hendry said: "Basically, he said that he never liked me and the only reason he spoke to me was because he thought he had to speak to me because we were at the same places. And he was going to send me back to Scotland to my sad little life."
Motivation and Disappointment
Hendry admitted the comments provided immediate motivation. "So my motivation was done there and then. I thought, 'OK, if he doesn't like me I won't speak to him, I'll just go out and play, I'll just go out and play the match,'" he said.
However, the remarks also left him disappointed. "It was quite disappointing, actually, when it all happened because I liked Ronnie," Hendry added. He noted that O'Sullivan later claimed he was encouraged to say those things by people close to him, including boxer Naseem Hamed.
The Match and Aftermath
Hendry went on to win the semi-final 17-13, describing it as probably the last time he played his best snooker at the Crucible. He recalled O'Sullivan's behaviour during the match: "I remember during the match, if I missed any easy shot, I could see Ronnie coming to the table laughing, smirking that I'd missed these easy shots. That got to me even more. I was just getting more and more mad, and more and more determined to win the match."
Despite the tension, Hendry lost the final to Peter Ebdon. The pair now have an excellent relationship, with considerable mutual admiration. Hendry reflected: "Obviously, we get on great now, but I was disappointed. I just used it to psych myself up to win. It's probably the only match in my career that had any sort of bad feeling."
