STEPHEN Hendry emphatically ended an 11-month barren spell without a
ranking tournament victory by overcoming Steve Davis 10-6 in the final
of the #150,000 Sky Sports International Open snooker tournament in
Plymouth last night.
The 24-year-old Scot, who begins the defence of his world title in
Sheffield on Saturday, gave himself an enormous boost with his fine
performance against the in-form Davis.
Winner of the European Open, British Open, and Irish Masters since
mid-February, Davis fashioned clearances of 59 and 35 in the last two
frames of the afternoon session to establish a 5-4 interval lead.
But when play resumed, Hendry was in unstoppable form as he rattled
off six of the next seven frames to collect a first prize of #25,000.
Hendry opened the evening's proceedings with a 69 break to level at
5-5 before a 105 in frame 11 gave him the lead at 6-5, and a new world
record. It was Hendry's ninth century in the event -- the most centuries
by a single player in a single tournament -- and he added a 115 for good
measure in frame 14.
In between, Hendry also powered in breaks of 69 and 57 to build up a
strong 9-5 lead. Davis, up to second in the provisional rankings after
this tournament, stayed alive with a 76 break in frame 15 before Hendry
stamped his authority once again with decisive runs of 55 and 73 to
claim the title.
Hendry said: ''It's a great confidence booster for me. I would have
been disappointed if I had not won this event after playing so well.''
Davis, who suffered only his second defeat in 21 matches, admitted:
''Stephen really put the boot in. It was a high quality performance.''
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