Hendry holds out
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ByEurosport
Published 17/01/2007 at 18:10 GMT
Stephen Hendry survived a perilous collapse to see off Matthew Stevens 6-5 and reach the quarter-finals of the Masters at Wembley. The Scottish veteran squandered a 5-0 lead before regaining his composure to win the final frame.
SNOOKER 2005-2006 China Open - Stephen Hendry
Image credit: Imago
"I would have been disappointed to lose, but from 5-0 to 5-5 I had precious little to play at. Matthew played so well.
"I said to Matthew after that I wouldn't have been gutted to lose that match the way he played.
"He made two centuries, some great breaks and there's nothing you can do against that.
"He turned into a different player at 5-0. I couldn't get to the table. It's hard to play well when you're not at the table. It's as simple as that."
Having played near-perfect snooker to tie up the match, Stevens said he was disappointed not to have finished the job.
"I played well for an hour and I felt if I got one good chance in the last frame I'd have made a break in the last frame.
"I'm obviously disappointed, but I feel good about the way I'm playing. I put him under pressure, he missed one or two balls and it could have gone either way.
"I can take some consolation with the way I played. It gives me hope for the rest of the season."
Hendry is a six-time winner of the event and will face the similarly decorated Steve Davis in a showpiece last eight confrontation if Davis can see off Shaun Murphy in the evening session.
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