RONNIE O'Sullivan is feeling happier with life as he prepares for another clash with great Scot Stephen Hendry in York tomorrow for a place in Sunday's final of the second biggest event in world snooker.

Maintaining his superb form O'Sullivan chalked up three centuries in demolishing Quentin Hann 9-3 in their quarter-final to take his Travis Perkins UK Snooker Championship total to 11 in only three matches this week at the Barbican Centre.

And Hendry's skill was equally impressive as he crushed outsider Barry Pinches 9-3 to stay on course in his bid to win the UK title for the sixth time.

After his victory O'Sullivan said that he felt much better in himself than he did two nights earlier when he revealed he was struggling emotionally with personal problems.

"It did me a power of good to let it all out the other day," he added. "I have spoken to my mum and we have had a good chat and hopefully things will get a lot better."

His performance yesterday afternoon was awesome, with a 99 per cent success rate in winning the first six frames.

Hann took the last two of the first session to stay in the match but O'Sullivan began the evening with a century and although the Australian won a frame there was no stopping the 2001 world and UK champion marching on.

"It was OK, but I need to play better than that if I am to beat Stephen," he said afterwards. "It's going to be tough. He has come back to form. But it would be nice to get one over on him as he beat me in the British Open final in Brighton."

Hendry, 6-2 up at the end of the first session, opening the evening's play with his second hundred of the match and took just over 45 minutes to complete the job. Pinches, the world number 36 from Norwich and playing in a tournament quarter-final for the first time, never showed the form which had won him the prize scalps of bigger profile opponents Marco Fu, Graeme Dott and world number five Stephen Lee on his way to the last eight.

"I am playing great, I look forward to playing Ronnie every time I'm drawn to play him," Hendry said of tomorrow's big match. "I hope for the supporters in York we can put on as good a show as we did when we played in Brighton."

The first finalist will be decided tonight in the semi-final between Jimmy White and Matthew Stevens which started this afternoon. Both semi-finals and Sunday's final are a sell-out.

Updated: 11:23 Friday, November 28, 2003