Hendry writes his own script to keep hopes for eighth title alive

The 43-year-old Scotsman, who with seven crowns has won more world titles than any other player in the sport’s history, last tasted Crucible success back in 1999 but his march to the quarter-finals of the Betfred.com World Championship has been stunning.

Forced to endure the qualifiers just to reach the televised stages of the tournament, after falling out of the top 16 to 23rd in the world, Hendry had to scrap for his Crucible spot.

Then due to business commitments in China he only returned from a 10,000-mile trip to the Far East 24 hours before his first-round win over Stuart Bingham.

Anyone with doubts that jetlag would be a problem was given the perfect answer as Hendry produced a maximum 147 to pocket a £50,000 bonus.

If that was surprising, his second-round victory was pure Hollywood. Defending champion John Higgins was humiliated 13-4 to stun the Crucible crowd who had flocked to watch the first meeting at the Sheffield theatre of two of its favourite sons.

Hendry led 5-3 after the first session, but then Higgins produced a horror show in the middle session of the match, winning just one frame in eight to leave himself on the edge of defeat at 12-4.

Hendry duly wrapped up victory with a 64 clearance to secure a quarter-final appearance with Stephen Maguire tomorrow.

It was all too much for four-time champion Higgins.

“It broke my heart to come in 12-4 behind,” he said.

“This place can do that to you, I’ve seen it before, it can bring you your good moments – but it can also give you your worst nightmare.”

Hendry has had a few of those in the last decade as he slipped down the rankings, and he admitted the ease of his victory – against one of the game’s toughest competitors – took him by surprise.

“If someone said I would beat John Higgins 13-4 I would’ve said they were nuts.

“The first session was high standard and I thought I played quite well,” said Hendry. “Friday night was one of the strangest sessions of snooker I’ve played at the Crucible.

“I’m fortunate that John has never played worse than that in his life. I was getting five or six chances a frame and sometimes I was coming to the table in shock and not knowing what to do. It was weird.

“Normally when he is behind he comes out all guns blazing, when his back is against the wall he comes out playing his best snooker.

“John’s had a poor season by his standards. This place is hard, if you miss a few balls it’s hard to get going.”

Maguire, who beat Joe Perry 13-7 in his second-round tie, should provide Hendry with a far sterner test of his title credentials.

“Stephen Maguire looks very solid,” added Hendry. “He’s hard to beat. Anything can happen from here on in. I love playing here. It’s the best place to play snooker in. You’ve just got to try and take the chances given to you.”

As for Higgins, his early exit caps a poor season and he admitted his lack of preparation for tournaments had proved costly. “I’ve gone into this season not doing the right things on or off the table,” admitted the 36-year-old.

“You only get out of life what you put in. This season I’ve not done the right things and I’ve not deserved anything out of the game.

“Next year I’m going to try and rectify that and come back a more focused player and a better prepared player.

“Over my career I’ve been a bit of a winner and you don’t like going through this, you’ve got to pick yourself up and try and win more tournaments, I’ve got to prepare better for tournaments.

“There hasn’t been a tournament this year where I’ve thought I’ve had a good chance of winning.”

On the opposite side of the screen to Hendry and Higgins, another two former world champions in Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan were slugging it out.

Between them the four have been crowned Crucible champion an astonishing 16 times, and are almost royalty in snooker circles.

O’Sullivan leads Williams 11-5 in their battle which concludes this evening.

None of China’s five players reached the quarter-finals after Sheffield-based Cao Yupeng was knocked out by Welshman Ryan Day 13-7.

The 21-year-old, who will have to go to Q School next month in a bid to earn a Tour card for next season, impressed against former World No 6 Day to trail just 9-7 after the first two sessions.

But Day stormed into the last eight with breaks of 113, 53, 87 and 119 to defeat Cao, who lives in Sheffield and is based at the city’s Star Snooker Academy.

Day, who has fallen from sixth to 35th in the rankings, said: “I’ve only got to the quarters here before. It’s a big match for me next and if I can win it’s new territory.

“I know if I win the next match it all changes and becomes a one-table set-up, and everyone wants to play on that stage.

“If I can play like I did in the last four frames consistently, I know I can beat anybody.”

Jamie Jones, the 24-year-old qualifier from near Neath, was faring better than countryman Williams as he moved 10-6 ahead of second-round opponent Andrew Higginson, the 34-year-old Widnes cueman.

World No 36 Jones had breaks of 95 and 101, plus a gutsy clearance of 39 to pinch the final frame, doubling in the black to open up his four-frame lead, and Ali Carter or Judd Trump await the winner.

Another Welshman, twice Crucible runner-up Matthew Stevens, scored heavily at times in the opening two sessions against Barry Hawkins as he fired in three century breaks, 101, 122 and 123.

The pair are tied at 8-8 heading into today’s final session.