By Saj Chowdhury
BBC Sport at The Crucible |
  O'Sullivan was in sparkling form against Hendry |
Former Crucible winner Cliff Thorburn believes Ronnie O'Sullivan can beat Stephen Hendry's record of seven World Championship wins. O'Sullivan is on course for his third world title after storming to a 17-6 victory over Hendry in the semi-finals on Friday. "We haven't seen the best of Ronnie yet and I can see him beating the record," said Thorburn, the 1980 champion. "The sky's the limit for the Rocket. It is ridiculous how good he is." The 60-year-old Canadian added: "He has made three maximums at The Crucible and I reckon he could go on to make 10 to 12 at this venue. Ronnie's so different to anything I have ever seen."  | 606: DEBATE |
Hendry, 39, won all seven of his titles by the age of 30, whereas O'Sullivan has won two titles and is now 32. Thorburn reckons that age should not be a factor. "He's far from washed up. I compare Ronnie to golfer Tiger Woods - neither have reached their peaks yet," he said. Thorburn, who beat Alex Higgins 18-16 to win the title 28 years ago, added: "I played Ronnie about 12 or 13 years ago. "I took a flight from Toronto to Thailand and then practised for two days. He then beat me 5-0 and I was lucky to get nothing. "I could see he was pretty special then." However, in the eyes of the three-time champion, O'Sullivan was still not worthy of the "greatest" tag. "Hendry is the best ever. I would put Ronnie somewhere in between Hendry and Steve Davis for the moment."
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