KEY POINTS:
Becoming Hendry the VIII has been a target for Scotland's seven-times champion since his last world title in 1999, but the only eight Stephen Hendry is likely to remember from this year's world championship is the 8-0 whitewash he suffered at the genius hands of Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second session of their semifinal.
That left 'The Rocket' 12-4 ahead and he eased his way to a 17-6 win with breaks of 126 and 123. Hendry described O'Sullivan's performance as "snooker perfection".
It was the first time Hendry had been on the end of an 8-0 session drubbing in the 22 years since he made his debut in the tournament as a 17-year-old. To make matters worse, Hendry had been 4-1 up and O'Sullivan took the last frame so in total he took 12 consecutive frames.
"Ronnie was outstanding," Hendry said. "His all-round game was the best I've ever played against. His safety was the best I've ever seen and whenever I missed he just cleared up. It was snooker perfection. He is the best player in the world by a country mile. In the afternoon, I can't remember him missing a ball or going out of position. It was awesome. There was nothing I could do."
O'Sullivan, who has not always been enamoured of Hendry, was thrilled with his rival's reaction.
"A compliment like that means more than anything. My dad [who has served 16 of an 18-year sentence for murder] will certainly be chuffed to bits by what Stephen has said about me," he told The Guardian.
At one stage, O'Sullivan scored 448 points without reply. Hendry finally ended his losing run with an excellent 85 in the first frame of the evening session but that was just a temporary respite as O'Sullivan raced to victory with a session to spare.
In the other semifinal, Ali Carter dominated the second session against Joe Perry to open up a 9-7 lead. The 28-year-old recovered from a 5-3 deficit by winning six of the eight frames as Perry struggled to find his touch for lengthy periods.
- INDEPENDENT
