Shaun Murphy was left in disbelief when told that Stephen Hendry had been singing his praises in the BBC commentary box, having fought back brilliantly to beat Zhao Xintong 13-10 in the World Championship.
Murphy's Playful Dig at Hendry
The 2005 champion couldn't resist playfully teasing the Scot upon learning of the compliment from the legendary snooker figure, who had witnessed his 13-10 success.
"Stephen Hendry in commentary said it was 'flawless' and Stephen's compliments don't come by very easy..." Seema Jaswal informed a delighted Murphy in the BBC studio.
"No, no, no," added Ken Doherty. However, Murphy wasn't about to accept the praise without having some fun at Hendry's expense.
"Has someone checked Stephen?" he jokingly asked. "Do we need to send an intervention for Stephen?"
Hendry's High Praise
Murphy received widespread acclaim after recovering from three frames behind against defending champion Xintong to ultimately secure his progression. Hendry described the Englishman as displaying 'championship-winning form' while Davis suggested he was virtually flawless in the concluding session.
"It was nigh on the perfect session," he remarked. "I don't think Shaun will have ever played as good a session, it was a super-human performance and it needed that to take out Zhao Xintong, because he wasn't playing badly."
"Shaun is playing World Championship-winning standard at the moment and if he continues it, he's going to be so tough to beat."
Murphy's Own Assessment
Murphy recognised that he was performing close to his peak. "I think when you're playing great players, which Zhao Xintong unquestionably is, it makes it straightforward for you.
"At 3-0 down, if you'd said I would have been level going into the last session, I'd have snapped your hand off."
"Even though I lost the second session, I was able to get myself in a good headspace for today and I just knew that I had to come out, be somewhere near my best and I think I was. I'm delighted with how I played."
Collaboration with Peter Ebdon
The semi-finalist, who will meet the winner of the match between John Higgins and Neil Robertson, also praised former snooker professional Peter Ebdon, with whom he has been collaborating. "It's certainly helped me tap into that reservoir of toughness," he added.
"I've always been quite tough mentally, but having been out there and done it himself, he's able to give you that little word that gets you in that zone.
"Sometimes I've been a bit soft and I'm not saying I've gone nasty, but I've certainly gone harder and I'm not willing to buckle perhaps as easily as I was."
