With all of the first-round matches now completed at the Masters, click below to read what the players have had to say on their matches, and also the comments made by Ronnie O’Sullivan about the state of snooker…
Stephen Hendry is quoted in the Daily Record as saying this:
“I should gave got absolutely rat-a***d on my birthday but instead I spent the day practising.”
“The demons are still there. You make your own luck in this game but if you feel as uncomfortable as I do out there things are not going to happen for you at the right times.
“My luck went against me at the wrong time towards the end of the match. That’s what happens when you’re struggling for results.
“I got my good fortune at the start of the match, I fluked a ball and got a lucky snooker but I had enough chances to win three matches.
“Things are just not happening for me.
“If you make loads of unforced errors and miss lots of easy balls, you really don’t deserve anything.”
“I’ll stay away from the TV set, I don’t give a monkey’s who wins it. If I’m out I don’t care.”
And on Eurosport he gives his opinion on whether snooker should look to darts for inspiration:
“Talk that the game is dying is complete nonsense.
“People talk about darts being on the crest of a wave. But if that’s what we’ve got to do, let people in drinking and shouting and bawling, then it’s a sad state.
“I think snooker is a classy sport, and to go down that route would be a backward step.”
Hendry’s conqueror Neil Robertson is also quoted in the Daily Record as saying:
“Any time when you play Stephen Hendry it’s going to be a big game.
“People point out that he’s not playing at his best any more but he’s still a really top-class player.
“It was a high-quality match. I’m relieved to win and really looking forward to playing Stephen Maguire in the next round.
“I wasn’t around that much when Stephen Hendry was winning everything but I was surprised with the amount of easy balls he missed in our match.”
Ali Carter told World Snooker this after this 6-0 demolition of Peter Ebdon:
“I’m focussing on keeping things simple and I’m enjoying the game,”
“It was a good performance tonight against a top player who always makes it tough for you.”
“My long game is good at the moment, if there’s a ball available I’ll try to pot it, and I seem to get more than I miss. It’s a strong asset to have.”
Mark Allen had some interesting things to say to Setanta about Ronnie O’Sullivan:
“Maybe it’s what the game needs, let him quit,”
“Ronnie sometimes says things without properly thinking about them – and then it has repercussions. He wouldn’t be where he is today without snooker; he was wrong for what he said.
“There are plenty of top snooker players today. Snooker doesn’t just need Ronnie. What else would he do if he quit? You can’t see him doing a nine-five job: he’d rather be playing snooker.
“I don’t play snooker to win money. I want to win tournaments. Everyone has to pay the bills but if you win titles then the money takes care of itself.”
Allen’s opponent Mark Selby told the Leicester Mercury after his narrow win over Ricky Walden:
“I knew it would be tough and perhaps I put too much pressure on myself to win, rather than just trying to enjoy it.
“I’ve lost a few deciding frames this season so it was good to prove to myself that when the pressure is on I can still make important breaks.”
John Higgins on his topsy turvy win over Marco Fu as reported by Setanta:
“If I’d had a spare cue then I would have probably smashed mine too,”
“That’s how bad I was feeling because I really should have been in front.
“Marco turned the screw and should have gone 5-2 and I would have been in trouble.
“But thankfully he gave me a chance and I managed to get back into the match.”
Ding Junhui told SkySports:
“It’s a good result to beat Shaun for the first time, especially as he’s just become UK champion,” Ding stated.
“I just tried to enjoy the game because I don’t like the pressure.”
Stephen Maguire after his win over Graeme Dott is quoted in the Guardian:
“I can relax now,”
“I think I don’t play again until Thursday. “I’m in two minds about whether to head up the road or stay down. I’m just relieved really.”
“He never missed a long ball until he was 5-2 up. Then he missed a couple,”
“He has not won a lot of matches but you can tell he’s starting to get more confidence about him. The way he’s zipping around the table it’s like the old Graeme.”
And also on the match-fixing row from the UK Championship, Stephen told the Shropshire Star:
“I read the papers as much as everybody else. Luckily enough I’m very, very thick-skinned.
“If I get a phonecall, I get a phonecall. I’ll help them out whatever they want to do. I know there’s nothing to worry about so it’s not really bothered me too much.
“It’s not nice. Jamie’s a good friend of mine. But I’m 100 per cent sure there’s nothing wrong, so we’ll just wait and see.
“If I had something to hide then maybe it would bother me but I’ve got absolutely nothing.”
In addition you can click here to listen again to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s now infamous rant and also here to read Mark Selby’s excellent blog.