Seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry has not won a title since 2005. Zhang, 18, is an unknown quantity for the 41-year-old Scot, who said: "I know nothing about him. Absolutely nothing. I've never seen him play, never met him, so it's tales of the unexpected."
The pair will meet for the first time just minutes before they take to the table and Hendry said: "It can be a bit of a banana skin, because you don't know how he plays. Is he an aggressive player? I'm sure he is because all the players are these days. But is he slow? Is he fast? Is his long-potting a speciality?"
Related ArticlesO'Sullivan avoids limelightMaguire and Burnett referred to prosecutorsO'Sullivan warns fellow pros to back HearnWiliams wins China OpenSport on televisionJohn Higgins sets up semi-final with Mark AllenHendry is chasing his eighth world title but has not won a ranking title since 2005. However, he said: "My form's good in practice but that doesn't count for anything really," he said. "To win the world title, you need the confidence of tournament wins which I haven't had.
"All I can do here is take one match at a time and even when I was winning the World Championship I never found my best form in the first round, it was always in the final. You get better as the rounds go on.
"If I'm still here next week then who knows what might happen.
"The concentration levels have just dipped and I've been missing easy balls by getting down on a shot and not knowing what I'm going to play, and it's frustrating.
"You benefit from deep inner belief of having wins behind you, so you get to the table and you know you're not going to miss.
"And if you haven't got that confidence then you come to the table and you're doubting yourself and you get down on a shot and you're second guessing. But that doesn't happen when you're winning, you just go down on a shot and you're on autopilot."
Sheffield is set to be confirmed as the home of the Betfred.com World Championship until 2015. World Snooker have agreed a one-year extension to the deal announced during last year's Crucible tournament.
Sheffield Theatres chief executive Daniel Bates told the Sheffield Star: "Having snooker at the Crucible is worthwhile on many levels.
"The money is useful but it is more about the profile of the theatre.
"There will be an announcement during the tournament that the Crucible is to host the tournament for another five years, rather than the four announced last year."
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