Hendry surprises himself

By Geet Sethi

SHEFFIELD, APRIL 30. There have been suggestions that Stephen Hendry was indulging in psychological warfare when he announced that he did not think he could win against Paul Hunter, his second round opponent. But that allegation does not do justice to the candid World no. 3 and a former seven-time winner, who surprised himself to claim the early initiative in the eagerly awaited contest.

Yes, Hendry had appeared uncertain and hesitant in his 10-5 victory over Mark Davis and was blatantly self critical and concerned at the form he displayed in that opening match. With the disconcerting backdrop of a 19-month hiatus in tournament victories, he was clearly justified in making deprecating remarks about his form and about his state of mind. However, allegations of psychological warfare are ridiculous going by his past record for sportsmanship both on and off the table.

He had also said after a disappointing first round performance, ``the crucible can really get you going. In most of my title wins, most of my first round matches were not impressive. I've got stronger and stronger as the tournament went on.'' The 32- year-old Scot was true to his word. Disconcerted, disturbed and anxious in the opening matches, there was a dramatic transformation in his approach and attitude in the second round.

He seemed more resolute, his concentration was total and his accuracy and positioning was immaculate. Perhaps his pride was hurt, by the media's dismissal of his chances against Hunter or it could just be that he had at last found that inexplicable winning combination which had deserted him this season. The result was ominous, as Hendry gave a lesson or two to his talented challenger, who convinced the pundits of his ability with a surprising title win in the Wembley Masters in February this year.

Hunter, the World no. 14 briefly sparkled winning the opening frame with the aid of a 92. But a combination of over confidence and carelessness on his part and accurate long potting and persistent break building by Hendry ensured a 6-2 first session advantage for the World No. 3. The proof of his return to form was provided first by a break of 49 in the second frame, which increased to 71 in the third and then a sparkling 129 clearance, which was instrumental in sowing the first seeds of diffidence into his opponent. Hunter responded with 62 reducing his deficit to 3-2, keeping himself in the match, but Hendry's persistence and relentless break building which featured further contributions of 51, 100 and 95 helped him in establishing a first session 6-2 lead. One could sense the conviction in his own ability and the deep desire to crush his opponent with the 100 break taking his tournament century tally to 523.

On the resumption, Hendry allowed his opponent to win only two of the eight frames of the second session stretching his advantage to 12-4 requiring only one more frame for victory and a quarterfinal place against Mathew Stevens. Hendry compiled further breaks of 48, 54 and 60 in the second session.

John Higgins was equally impressive in carving out an 11-5 advantage over Chris Small at the conclusion of the second session in their second round engagement. The World no. 2 has by far exhibited the best snooker in the event so far. He compiled breaks of 139 and 136 in his 10-4 first round annihilation of Graeme Dott. And on Sunday night, displaying remarkable consistency, the 1998 World champion destroyed his opponent with runs of 64, 67, 56, 103, 69, 72, 54 and 55.

Stephen Lee has taken a 9-7 lead over Peter Ebdon after a gruelling 6 hours 20 minutes of play, which featured a below par performance from both players. Except for an initial burst of scoring from Lee, wherein he constructed breaks of 121 and 66 in the opening frames, both players failed to impress, the tension and stress of occupying a quarterfinal berth taking it's toll on their game. Ebdon, in particular was woefully out of sorts, his display marred by too many unforced errors and too many missed pots.

Patrick Wallace, the World no. 59 and an unexpected 10-2 first round winner over Alan McManus has once again defied the odds by taking a 11-5 lead over 22nd seed Mark King.

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