Stephen Hendry

“I'm not the player I was.”

“I am not a superstar in Britain.”

“I cannot see a situation when I won't feel pressure to play well and win.”

“Unless I can do myself justice and play well, I'm not going to play.”

“I like cookery programmes: Anthony Bourdain going around the world eating stuff; Rick Stein - he's another favourite.”

“I could have had eight or nine world titles at least, and you do think about that at times.”

“I put on the tuxedo, and it's like putting on overalls - they're my work clothes. Then I go to work. I'm relaxed. I do my job.”

“I love playing in China. The crowds here value success more than British people seem to.”

“It would break my heart to lose playing safe.”

“Going into a tournament with 100 per cent belief you will win it - that's how I've always enjoyed snooker.”

“I grew up Dalgety Bay, in the Kingdom of Fife, in a 1970s bungalow. We moved there when I was nine and stayed for about six years.”

“When I started, there was never a great history of people doing well in snooker from Scotland. By chance, I got a table for my Christmas. If I hadn't got that, then none of this would have happened.”

“You get better as the rounds go on.”

“Financially speaking, I haven't ended my career in the best shape, and there are debts, as well as what is to come by way of a divorce settlement to Mandy.”

“Judd Trump's bedrock of his game is potting good long pots, getting in, creating a chance, and winning frames at one visit.”

“Did I have a mis-spent youth? I suppose I did in that I left school early without any qualifications, having bunked off a few times for tournaments.”

“In any sport at the top level, if you don't put in the hard work, you can be sure someone else is. It is a vicious circle.”

“When you're young and you first come onto the scene, you're fearless. You just go for your shots and don't really think about the consequences. But as you play on through years and years, you get punished for those misses, and gradually, that leaves scars. It dents your confidence a bit.”

“By 2012, my game was shot. You're sitting on your chair watching players' leagues below you play shots you can't. That destroyed me.”

“The best way to deal with aggression is to ignore it and try to get the match over as soon as possible.”