Ronnie O'Sullivan took 'sad' Stephen Hendry by surprise with seven-word attack

Seven-time snooker world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan once took Stephen Hendry by complete surprise with one potent piece of criticism . And it left the Scot wondering if his fellow record-holder had it in for him when he thought they were friends. O'Sullivan, who recently exited this year's World Snooker Championship in the second round, faced Hendry in the semi-finals of the 1999 competition. And it was during that showdown Hendry did something that rankled his rival. Fast-forward three years later when the pair once again met in the last four of the Crucible. And it was in the build-up to that clash 'The Rocket' revealed his frustration in a seven-word slight, telling Hendry to "go back to his sad little life." "I played him in the semi-finals a couple of years ago and we had this miss rule," said O'Sullivan prior to their showdown 24 years ago. "You know when a certain player has made a genuine attempt and a miss was called against me. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook page "I really thought a lot of Stephen until he had that ball put back, and he really did go down in my estimations after that. There is not a lot of respect there at all." He continued: "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. "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, who beat O'Sullivan on both occasions and lifted the 1999 crown, was completely blindsided by the stinging criticism. And while the pair may get along just fine these days, there was no love lost from one side of the relationship back then. Speaking in an Instagram Live session in 2024, Hendry recalled: "I was very surprised obviously, my road manager, John, came and brought the newspaper to my room in the hotel and showed me, It took me by surprise, because I thought we got on pretty well. "It's one of those things, it's probably the only needle match I've ever played. I actually watched it the other night, was up till half two, watching the whole 2002 re-run. "I've never played as well as that at the Crucible since that semi-final. I thought it was a fantastic match, two aggressive snooker players playing the game the right way. I don't think I ever played that well again, unfortunately." That's all water under the bridge now, however. O'Sullivan has made numerous appearances on Hendry's Cue Tips podcast in recent years and hails the Scot as the best player to grace the sport . Hendry, 57, also recently faced O'Sullivan under 'Snooker 900' rules at the John Virgo Trophy in April. However, there was a time when at least once half of the iconic duo couldn't stand being in the same room as his fellow great.