O'Sullivan claims hard-fought point against Hendry - 22/10/2009

Ronnie O'Sullivan 3-3 Stephen Hendry (best of 6)
O'Sullivan's scores first
1-75 (Hendry 51), 38-65 (Hendry 35), 78-0 (O'Sullivan 78), 0-76 (Hendry 76), 99-0 (O'Sullivan 95), 68-7 (O'Sullivan 42)

RONNIE O'SULLIVAN claimed a hard-fought 3-3 draw against Stephen Hendry.

O'Sullivan trailed 3-1 but took the last two frames to maintain his unbeaten run at the start of the 2009 PartyCasino.com Premier League Snooker season.

"I'm pleased with how I felt in the frames near the end," said O'Sullivan. "Sometimes you get inspired by playing Stephen so maybe I need to play him more often as when I'm playing some other players I feel like I'm falling asleep."

Hendry was furious he had not won the match. "I thought I was just terrible tonight," said Hendry. "Both of us missed balls and should've had centuries so probably it was a good game to watch but being 3-1 up I wanted to win."

A capacity crowd at the Grimsby Auditorium were present to witness a match between two of the best players ever - seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry and current world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan came into this match top of the league with two wins and a draw from his first three matches, while Hendry had won one, drawn one and lost one. However, bookmakers were not confident of Hendry claiming a victory as he was priced at 7/1.

That bet looked good value as he won the opening frame, largely thanks to a break of 51. The second frame was a scrappy affair as Hendry missed a brown off its spot, O'Sullivan missed a straight-forward red before Hendry, after a break of 35, missed a red.

But it did not prove crucial as O'Sullivan then missed a blue as the Scot moved two ahead as O'Sullivan was facing his first defeat of the 2009 Premier League.

However, O'Sullivan showed why he had won this competition for each of the last five seasons as he compiled a frame-winning break of 78 in the third to reduce the deficit to 1-2. He looked on course for a century break, which would have earned him an extra £1,000, but awkward cueing saw him miss a tricky red as the break ended prematurely.

Hendry claimed the fourth but missed a chance of a century when he faultered after a run of 76 with four reds still remaining on the table.

Hendry fouled at the start of the fifth as the cue ball went in-off and he was punished as O'Sullivan's 95 kept the match alive. The Rocket sealed a fine point in the last, helped by a patient break of 42 as the match finished 3-3.