Snooker: O'Sullivan ends Hendry's hopes

Ronnie O'Sullivan crushed Stephen Hendry's hopes of Glasgow glory as a patchy performance proved enough to clinch a place in the World Open quarter-finals yesterday.

Seven-times world champion Hendry has gone five years without a ranking title, and the wait goes on after he failed to punish O'Sullivan for some careless play, losing 3-1 at the SECC.

"Stephen of old would have trounced me today," O'Sullivan admitted afterwards. "I'm just hacking it around a bit."

The match began with a terrific break from each player, O'Sullivan's 93 to take the opening frame followed by 95 from Hendry to level matters.

O'Sullivan won a scrappy third frame, and at the start of the fourth ignored the possibility of a 147 by playing for the green, his mission to reach the last eight rather than make a daring bid for the 11th maximum of his career, and a second of the week.

Hendry had played a poor break-off shot, running into the blue, and O'Sullivan raced to 66 before missing a routine red with the rest. Hendry returned to the table with 75 points still on but his break ground to a halt on 23.

"Stephen in his prime would have 'dished up' there," said O'Sullivan.