Snooker legend Stephen Hendry claims Ronnie O'Sullivan's recent performances show that 'age is catching up with him slightly'.
However, Hendry says the Rocket's attitude towards competing means he is in an 'incredible' position to rack up more tournament wins over the coming years.
O'Sullivan has won the last three competitions he has entered, including the first two Triple Crown events of the season.
He won the UK Championship in December and a record-extending eighth Masters in January before triumphing at the World Grand Prix.
Stephen Hendry says age is slightly catching up with Ronnie O'Sullivan
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The 48-year-old has not been happy with how he has played, despite being on a winning run of 15 matches.
Hendry admits O'Sullivan has often been far from his best of late and has rarely played well through the entirety of a match.
The Scot says the lack of complete performances from O'Sullivan shows that his age is starting to play a small factor.
Hendry told the Snooker Club podcast: "When you look at Ronnie having won all these tournaments, a lot of these matches he's not played great. But he's managed to do enough to get the victories.
"He's played great in stages, there's no doubt about it, he played a gear against [Ali] Carter at the end, he found a gear against [Judd] Trump. But these are sort of three or four-frame bursts.
"He's not playing well for the whole match. So the age is catching up with him slightly but he's still got that thing where it's not the be-all and end-all and it's making him a winning animal."
O'Sullivan is currently on a break from competing, pulling out of the German Masters to protect his health and wellbeing.
He has repeatedly stated that he is not enjoying playing tournaments and doesn't get much satisfaction out of being at the table.
Hendry says the 'don't care' attitude is what separates O'Sullivan from other players.
He added: "He's got that amazing sort of attitude where he's trying to win when he's out there but if he loses, he doesn't really care.
"It doesn't affect his life, it's not going to affect him for the next week or he's not going to dwell on it.
"He's got other things to do and he's just going to chill out and do his exhibitions and go to China and wherever and get very well paid.
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Stephen Hendry says Ronnie O'Sullivan's attitude sets him apart from rivals
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"So it's not the be-all and end-all, whereas for me it was the be-all and end-all."
O'Sullivan is in line to compete at the Welsh Open this month before the Players Championship in Wolverhampton.
He will also be in Saudi Arabia in March for the inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
Hendry has no doubt that O'Sullivan's outlook towards playing means he will continue to succeed for years to come.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the last three tournaments he has entered
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He said: "In any sport, if you have that ingredient where the actual result doesn't matter to you in your life really, it's an incredible position to be in. It really is.
"And that makes me think 'How long can he go on?' because he looks after himself, at the minute you can't see him slowing down in terms of winning.
"Ronnie's different from anyone else, he's just a special talent you can just turn up and play to a very, very high standard."
