Ronnie O’Sullivan is trying to take a leaf out of Mark Williams’ book and adopt a more carefree attitude, believes Stephen Hendry.
Williams became the oldest ever winner of a ranking event on Monday as he hammered Shaun Murphy 10-3 in the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix.
It was the 27th ranking title of the 50-year-old’s immense career, which shows no sign of coming to an end any time soon.
The famously relaxed Welshman spoke about his attitude to snooker after lifting the trophy, suggesting that other players should look to replicate it.
‘I try my absolute hardest when I’m out there, trying to win every game. Of course I care, I want to win,’ Williams told WST.
‘But if I lose I don’t care, that’s no moaning or dwelling on it. If you beat yourself up when you lose, then you will struggle in this game.
‘If more players took the same attitude they might see a bit of improvement.’
Hendry reckons O’Sullivan is doing just that, feeling that the Rocket has shown signs of a change in attitude this season.
‘I think Ronnie is trying to copy Mark a little bit in his attitude even in interviews he gives after matches,’ said Hendry on the Snooker Club podcast. ‘I think Ronnie has seen that that’s the way to go.’
Hendry, who retired in 2012 at 43 years old, is in awe of Williams still competing at the top of snooker at his age, climbing to number four in the world rankings after winning the £177,000 top prize in Xi’an.
‘What a competitor,’ said the Scot of the Welshman. ‘I see a lot of players and we talk about players like [Jack] Lisowski, and you can question the world champion [Zhao Xintong] at the moment, are they really competing? Are they competitors out there?
‘As Mark said, are they being scraped off the table, in an effort to try and win? They might see Mark having a laugh and a joke, but these players have really got to look at what he’s like when he’s actually in the match. A fierce competitor.
‘He’s incredible, it’s difficult to find superlatives for what these guys are doing. The likes of John and Ronnie. If we concentrate on Mark it’s hard to think of what new to say on how impressive what he’s doing is. Because he’s not practicing in between tournaments at all, he’s on the golf course, he’s in the bingo hall. He’s the most unique sportsman, I think, in the world.
‘He’s just an absolute freak, he really is. I keep saying he’s my hero, because how does he do it? He’s just unbelievable.’
Williams’ strength is his temperament. He doesn’t play his best to get to the final, he manages to win because of his temperament, because he’s prepared to win ugly and scrappy. Then when he’s required to turn it on in the final…he’s probably a better all-round winner than he’s ever been!’
The three Class of 92 legends are still riding high in the rankings, with Williams fourth in the world, O’Sullivan fifth and Higgins sixth.
‘It’s amazing that I am still winning tournaments, I don’t know how I’m doing it because I am not practising enough to really compete in the later stages of tournaments,’ said the new Xi’an Grand Prix champion.
‘I try to play as much as I can while I’m at venues. And you have to scrape me off the table until the last ball is potted. Somehow the three of us in the Class of ’92 are still going.’
Williams is in the draw for the Northern Ireland Open, which starts on Sunday, but said he is likely to withdraw from the event after the big win in China.
O’Sullivan reached the quarter-finals in Xi’an, beaten 5-2 by Gary Wilson, and Hendry feels the Rocket’s reduced schedule this season may have cost him.
‘Ronnie looked good, as he has done in Shanghai and in Saudi Arabia,’ said Hendry. ‘When he was winning he looked great.
‘But maybe the fact he’s not playing tournament after tournament after tournament, when it comes to a match where there’s a bit of pressure on, maybe he’s missing that little bit of sharpness in a match situation when you need to go up a gear. When he’s dominating he looks brilliant, but maybe there’s a bit of rustiness of not being in the pit week after week.’