Hendry enters second round

By Geet Sethi

SHEFFIELD, APRIL 27 For six years, Stephen Hendry has come to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, and played in the opening match on the opening day, an honour given to defending champion. This year he was the last seeded player to contest his first round match. The world no.3, who has won the Embassy World snooker championship a record seven times entered the second round with a 10-5 victory over Mark Davis ranked 74 places below him.

He had seemed unsure of himself in the first session, the inability to win a ranking title this season weighing heavily on him. Having set the benchmarks for excellence in the game, his inability to rediscover those same standards has instilled a sense of insecurity and frustration in him.

His self-deprecating remarks after the contest reconfirmed his frustrations and lack of confidence. ``I'm delighted to win that match. I wouldn't have been surprised at all, if I'd have lost because I have been playing so badly.'' The 32-year-old Scot, who dominated the sport in the nineties, has failed to negotiate the first round of the world championships twice in the last three years.

``It's not just the match today. I haven't played well for ages. I was not overtly confident about winning the match.'' Indeed, the last tournament victory came more than twelve months ago; a drought which has haunted him and eroded his self-belief, a quality which was his trademark strength.

Hendry impressed but only in patches. A long red into the top pocket, opening an opportunity for a frame winning effort, a delicately played black, with the cue ball squeezing in between three reds for perfect position, and two breaks of 87 & 80 provided a glimpse of his class. But there were too many missed opportunities as well. Too many unforced errors, too many lapses in concentration for him to consider himself a serious threat for the title.

``The Crucible is the worst place in the world if you are struggling. I've got to put in 110% because I know I am not playing well. My confidence isn't high, so I've really got to try hard.''

He said. Yet, one can never write off a seven-time world champion, who has won 32 ranking tournaments in a career, which has spanned 16 years. Deep down, he realises his own strengths as well. He may be self-critical but Hendry has great pride in his performances, in his achievements and in his own capabilities.

``I've played bad and reached semifinals and finals this season by trying really hard. But on the other hand, anything can happen. The Crucible can really get me going. Historically, I have just got stronger and stronger as the tournament progresses'', said Hendry. In the second round, the Scot now meets Paul Hunter, the talented youngster, who won the Wembley Masters this year.

It promises to be an intriguing contest, with the bookies actually favouring the 14th ranked Hunter over the world no.3. Hendry had a comment to make about that as well.

``I've got nothing to lose. I think everyone is expecting him to beat me, so the pressure will be on him. If he doesn't beat me with me playing as bad as this, he should be very disappointed. What do the bookies know?''

An effervescent Ronnie O'Sullivan commenced his second round match against Dave Harold and leads 5-3 at the conclusion of the first session of the best of 25 frames encounter.

Having exhibited sublime fluency and controlled aggression in his 10-2 first round victory over Andy Hicks, O'Sullivan came up with yet another inspirational performance on Friday morning.

O'Sullivan's Achilles heel is his unpredictability and sudden mood swings. Awe-inspiring one moment, his game can plummet to unusual depths for no apparent reason.

When he is happy, his consistency in break building can crush any opposition. But occasionally, he goes into depression, unable to find meaning in the sport, unable to muster up the zest for competitive play. At these moments, any player can defeat him. His own mind becomes his biggest enemy. He has threatened to quit the game on many occasions. For a 26 year old, who is acknowledged as the most talented cueist since Jimmy White these threats seem highly illogical and unnecessary.

It is this unpredictability in temperament that has prevented him from winning the world championship. He uncorked superb breaks of 100, 92, 73, 56 and 61 on Friday morning giving some indication of reliability and consistency, two qualities that he has not exhibited in the past.

Harold, a seasoned campaigner appearing in the final stages of the world championships for the seventh time did well to arrest the barrage of breaks unleashed by his opponent with decisive runs of 61, 67 and 56.

Mathew Stevens, last year's runner-up and the world no.6 has established an unassailable 11-5 lead over Anthony Hamilton after the conclusion of the second session. In a high quality contest, which featured five-century breaks - three by Stevens and two by Hamilton - Stevens was in total command.

The string of breaks including 51, 100, 68, 83, 51, 78, 126, 52 and 139 provide overwhelming proof of his capabilities with the world no.6 now requiring only two more frames for a place in the quarterfinal. The 139 has equalled John Higgins's effort for the Pounds 20,000 high break prize.

Defending champion Mark Williams lead 5-3 against Joe Swail at the end of their first session.

First round result: best of 19 frames: Stephen Hendry bt Mark Davis 10-5. 73-31, 82(53)-0, 91(78)-35, 66-40, 68-28, 0-87(87), 53-25, 63-71, 18-53, 75(60)-52, 69-46, 31-80(72), 18-85(77), 81(80)-4, 83-47

Earlier results: Stephen Lee bt Nigel Bond 10-4. 104 (100)-16, 66-57, 81 (81)-11, 13-86, 54-46, 85 (52)-39, 40-86 (86),1-81, 63 (63)- 16,73-36, 93 (71)-13, 75-25.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Focus will be on doubles, says Arif
Next     : Not all is well in the world of billiards