Stephen Hendry has never been particularly fond of interviews, as a player or a pundit, and apologised to one snooker star for an "out of order" incident.
Stephen Hendry regrets some of his heated post-match comments
Stephen Hendry once had to apologise to a snooker rival for making “disparaging” and “out of order” comments after a defeat. Snooker legend Hendry was known for his spiky post-match interviews during his glittering career, which he puts down to being a bad loser.
The seven-time world champion’s hatred for post-match interviews was visible throughout his 31 years as a professional, especially when questioned straight after a defeat. And the Scot admits there is one interview he still looks back on with regret. Hendry suffered a 9-0 drubbing by compatriot Marcus Campbell at the 1998 UK Championship before aiming a dig at the Dumbarton Destroyer. Speaking about his regret on the Snooker Club podcast, the pundit said: "If you lose a match then you’re basically straight into a press room and you don’t get a chance to sort of cool down or calm down.
"I’ve done two or three interviews after I’ve lost where I’ve basically just answered every question in one word. Yes or no. I was such a bad loser. Going back to my 9-0 hammering from Marcus Campbell, I did a press conference after it. They asked about my opponent and if he was good.
"I said I was terrible, he was alright but he’s not going to win the tournament. I was very disparaging about him and I went to apologise to him at the next tournament because I was out of order."
He also admitted it was wrong of him to react poorly to journalists who were only doing their jobs. And with the roles now reversed thanks to his punditry for the BBC and ITV, he admits he doesn't find things any easier on the other side of the microphone.
Hendry targeted rival Marcus Campbell with some harsh words
Hendry said: "I was asked to do two loser interviews at the Masters which I’ve never done before. It was horrific. I didn’t know what to say or what to ask. I’ve never been in that mentality, I know how I’ve felt having lost a match and I kept wondering what to say.
"The first one I did was Chris Wakelin lost. I’ve got a microphone and I forgot to put the microphone to him when he was speaking, so I had to start again. I remember thinking, 'oh my God, he must think who is this guy?'
"If I was Chris Wakelin I’d have thought ‘sod this, I’m off, you don’t even know how to interview someone’. I found that really weird doing a loser interview. Hopefully I did it badly enough they won’t ask me to do it again."
Kyren Wilson has also been accused of being a bad loser in interviews
Despite confessing that he himself didn’t take defeats well in the past, Hendry in February labelled current world champion Kyren Wilson a “bad loser”. However, he added that it's a good trait to have, saying: "I don't like seeing good losers.
"There's a saying, 'if you show me a good loser, you're a loser.' I think in sport there's a lot to that. I don't mind the fact he's a bad loser. I think that's the only way to be."
Wilson caused a stir after labelling rival Shaun Murphy an "old man" following his defeat in the Masters final, before saying that his opponent needed the victory more than him. Wilson also controversially stated that despite his defeat, he'd shown "why I'm the world champion" after mounting a comeback to give himself a chance in the eventual 10-7 defeat, which drew criticism across the world of snooker.
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