Stephen Hendry doesn't believe he and his compatriots get the recognition they deserve.
On the eve today's all-Scottish showdown with Stephen Maguire at the World Championship, the seven-time world champion took a frustrated potshot at his own country.
The seven-time world champion is annoyed that he and his fellow Crucible winners John Higgins and Graeme Dott. haven't received enough plaudits for their unparalleled success over the last 20 years.
"There will now definitely be a Scot in the semi-finals, and that is great in my view," said Hendry. "But given the success we have had in snooker, I don't think Scotland always gives us the credit and recognition we deserve. I mean, what sports are we any good at? We have Andy Murray, he's in the top four in the world at tennis but hasn't won a major yet. But in terms of the last 20 years we have almost dominated snooker, and it's a shame that people don't always appreciate that era.
"You look in the papers and there are 10 pages of football every day. We're really good at football, aren't we? But coming in this year John Higgins had won three of the last five world titles, I have won seven, Graeme Dott has won one, and who knows this year. You get a bit of coverage at the actual time, but the rest of the year, nothing."
Hendry and Maguire open their best-of-25 frame quarter-final duel this morning and play a second session tonight.
The 43-year-old Hendry, who defeated the defending champion Higgins and pocketed a 147 break in his first-round match, can't wait to face his former practice partner for the first time at snooker's biggest event.
But having last won the famous Crucible crown in 1999, Hendry believes all the pressure will be on his fellow Scot as he bids to win his first world title.
"I am the outside of the two, I have won it seven times, and he would love to win it for the first time. I am just enjoying it this year. I did the trip to China getting back the day before my first-round match, and enjoyed playing some golf before my match with Stephen. I would never have done these things 15-20 years when I was winning this championship regularly. I feel very relaxed. The last few years I have worked very hard ahead of this event and it hasn't done any good, so I have taken a different approach this time. But I always saw the potential in Stephen when I practised with him when he was 14. He had respect for other, older players – but no fear. He wanted to do well, and show everyone else how good he was.
"After his breakthrough year in 2004 when he won the UK Championship, it is surprising he hasn't won more. For two or three years, he didn't practise enough, or as much as he should have, whereas in his younger days he was a hard worker, putting in six hours a day. I am at different stage of my career, so I'm not practising as much as I used to."
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