Mark Selby has responded to Stephen Hendry’s high praise. (Image: Getty.)
has played down claim that the Jester could beat any player on the planet in his pomp.
Selby, the current world No. 5, has been forced to let the likes of , and share the spotlight in recent times. But seven-time world champion Hendry believes that the 41-year-old has the ability to beat anyone on the biggest stage.
Hendry claimed that Selby at the peak of his powers could beat any other player, including , if they were all at the top of their games.
And predominantly because of his supreme safety game.
“I’m including anyone, including O’Sullivan as well. I think if they play their best against each other Mark Selby wins more than Ronnie,” Hendry said on his . “His safety game is like no other and he scores so heavily when he’s at his best.”
Selby, however, has graciously thanked Hendry but stopped going so far as to agreeing with the snooker legend.
“One of my friends sent me the clip. It’s a huge statement coming from him, but I don’t know, that’s for him to say,” Selby told the . “People always ask me if I class myself as one of the all-time greats. While I’m still playing and involved in the game then I don’t see it like that. I just feel as though I’m just another player, just another number.
“Until I retire and look back on what I’ve achieved, I’ll probably sit down and think to myself you know what, the boy from a council estate with no money in his pocket done good. But as it is at the moment I’ll still keep trying every match and try to win as many tournaments as I can possibly win.”
Stephen Hendry has compared the greatness of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby. (Image: Getty)
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Selby has recently opened up on suffering from depression after , the same year a close family friend passed away from the same illness.
He was abandoned by his mother at the age of eight and lost his father to cancer when he was 16, before devoting himself to snooker and becoming a four-time world champion.
And Selby admitted that the ultimate compliment coming from Hendry does carry more weight than most, even though he wasn’t willing to go on the record and make the same claim.
“Stuff like that does give you a massive boost, but it is just an opinion, it doesn’t mean anything really,” Selby continued. “It means a lot to me because it’s coming from one of the greats of the game. But you ask someone else on the tour and they’d probably say completely different.
“So it’s a matter of opinion, but it’s not from Joe Bloggs who’s never played the game. It’s from someone who’s competed at the top level and knows how tough the game is. It’s a massive compliment coming from someone like Stephen, for sure.”