Stephen Hendry has taken aim at some of Ronnie O'Sullivan's opponents for showing him "far too much respect".
O'Sullivan was making his first appearance back on the World Snooker Tour after pulling out of the Welsh Open due to 'stage fright'.
The world No 1 has enjoyed one of the most successful seasons of his career with victories at the UK Championship and Masters.
He followed his win at the Masters with an impressive victory at the World Grand Prix.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is through to the quarter-finals of the Players Championship
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Heading into his opening match at the Players Championship, O'Sullivan was on a 15-match unbeaten streak on the World Snooker Tour dating back to the International Championship in China in November.
His first-round match came against Yuelong, who took the match to O'Sullivan in the early stages.
The score was 2-2 going into the interval, but O'Sullivan came out and won the next four frames to progress to the quarter-finals.
The final frame saw Yuelong miss an easy green that ultimately allowed O'Sullivan to wrap up the victory.
Speaking after the match, Hendry believes the 26-year-old and his compatriots allow O'Sullivan's status in the game to get in the way of playing their best snooker.
"There’s no doubt about it, a lot of the Chinese players give Ronnie far too much respect," Hendry told ITV.
"This [missed green] is why I said he knows he’s playing someone who can’t beat him.
"It’s all very well starting a match well, you’ve got to keep competing at the business end of the match and he just faltered, he just went away, Zhou Yuelong.
Zhou Yuelong has never beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan
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"A lot of these Chinese players never stop telling you that Ronnie’s their hero, they’ve got to get that out of their mindset if they’re going to start challenging.
"Ronnie does what he does, he goes through the gears, he improves as the match goes on and Zhou Yuelong got weaker."
O'Sullivan has cut a forlorn figure this season despite his ongoing success, suggesting he feels burnt out by the schedule.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan has not lost in 16 matches
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And he was seemingly unbothered with his Players Championship victory, insisting his main focus is elsewhere.
“For me, it’s just a day out really,” O’Sullivan said.
“I just enjoy getting away from home, booking in my Airbnb, doing my gym, doing my running and then just fit a few frames of snooker in just like a bit of paid practice really.”