hendry babyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

[ADR147]

NOBODY will want to draw hendry right now - he is walking round the table like a predator and he knows how to win.

[stookiebhoy]

NOBODY will want to draw hendry right now - he is walking round the table like a predator and he knows how to win.

I totally agree, he has that steely stare about him again, and that is a frightening prospect for his opponents.
I remember meeting him in Edinburgh about a month before the Worlds in 1996. He'd had a poor season up until then by his high standards, and I pointed this fact out to him. His reply was, and I quote........ "Don't worry, I'll be ready for Sheffield". That was enough for me and I proceeded to stick £500 on him and advised my mates to do the same. The rest is history, and he went on to beat Peter Ebdon 18-12 in the final. I remember the look on his face when he said it to me, and he seems to have that same look now, so I think I'll be visiting William Hills today

[khizzy]

mark my words.

hendry will be the 2009 world champion.period.

[adamxx]

mark my words.

hendry will be the 2009 world champion.period.

I hope you're right, it would be awesome stuff!

[Templeton Peck]

From what I recall Hendry had won the UK and Masters going into the '96 WC so he obviously wasn't doing too badly...Anyway what Ronnie actually said was that only John Higgins could stop him if he were playing his top game and recent years bear this out. The last person other than Higgins to beat a prime Ronnie was Hendry himself in 2003, but despite playing well last year he didn't really get close. Higgins must be a big favourite for the final now, I don't realy see Cope or Dott/Selby causing him any serious problems if he produces his top standard. There are players who could beat him - I think Murphy would be a serious threat, Maguire possibly and Hendry certainly if he's playing well enough to get that far.

[breakman16]

Agreed templeton, I would love to see Hendry get to the final, the papers would too,finally they could scream all as one hendry the eighth! lol

I remember 02 final vividly, I wanted hendry to win, I've always loved hendry, no one has had more of an impact on the modern game than him, he virtually invented the blue pack split into the pink and others, when to split packs and has a desire to clear up all the time that we'll probably never see again!

Come on great man!

STEPHEN clap clap clap. . . STEPHEN clap clap clap. . . STPEHEN clap clap clap . . . lol

[Templeton Peck]

D'oh, I forgot the 2004 Masters final again, where Hunter also beat a top form Ronne! Basically though Ronnie wasn't being blasé about winning the title, he was just stating something that is blatantly obvious from the last few years. The new generation of players aren't exactly threatening the old regime yet - it's quite bizarre that Hendry seems to have more of chance of winning it these days than he did 5/6 years ago when he was still winning regularly: only Murphy has emerged as a proper world class player so far, and it has to be said both of his major titles came from 'soft' finals, as did Maguire's, Ding's and Selby's. None of these guys have run out a win over the "Big Four" in a major final yet.

[tallguy]

Higgins is going to win. Thank you Mark Allen for services rendered.

[brettski]

Higgins is going to win. Thank you Mark Allen for services rendered.

I wouldn't write Allen off too quickly or Hendry, very very dangerous men these two.

[stookiebhoy]

From what I recall Hendry had won the UK and Masters going into the '96 WC so he obviously wasn't doing too badly...Anyway what Ronnie actually said was that only John Higgins could stop him if he were playing his top game and recent years bear this out. The last person other than Higgins to beat a prime Ronnie was Hendry himself in 2003, but despite playing well last year he didn't really get close. Higgins must be a big favourite for the final now, I don't realy see Cope or Dott/Selby causing him any serious problems if he produces his top standard. There are players who could beat him - I think Murphy would be a serious threat, Maguire possibly and Hendry certainly if he's playing well enough to get that far.

That's what I mean............it wasn't a good year for him And I'm not kidding either. Hendry at his peak would have classed this a bad season had he not won the World.

As for John winning, well that's who I bet at the beginning of the tournament, as I do every year. This year however, I put the bet on with much more confidence than previous years as I know just how hard he has been practising in the run up to this one.
A Hendry/Higgins final would be a dream come true for me, with John bringing the trophy back to Glasgow.

[RocketRoy1983]

Great to see him securing his top 16 place for another season (touch wood) But I think Shaun will come through the q/f meeting.

[Dan27]

I was lucky enough to attend the last session of his first round match with Williams, to win that really showed me he still has what it takes to win the World Championships, he wasn't getting the run of the balls but he still battled his way through.

Although having said all of that, if Williams hadn't been so distracted about his tip it could have been alot closer.

[wildJONESEYE]

Great to see him securing his top 16 place for another season (touch wood) But I think Shaun will come through the q/f meeting.

i know youre shauns friend but dont be fooled by the 13-3 vs Marco Fu......i watched some of the first sesion and a 7-1 scoreline was flattering beiond belief..marco gifted frames on a plate to him with some of this tournamants worst display.

shauns strong point is his long potting but even that wasent fiering on all cylinders when you see Stephen Hendry with a better long pot percentage than shaun murphy in the second round you know if Stephen plays like he did against Ding and Shaun plays like he did against Marco .....Stephen will win.

however tuesday and wednsday are another day and another match who knows how they will play then but hendry played better against Ding under presure than ive seen for best part of 10 years. so he is in with a more than realistic chance of at last being Hendry the 8th.

[RocketRoy1983]

i know youre shauns friend but dont be fooled by the 13-3 vs Marco Fu......i watched some of the first sesion and a 7-1 scoreline was flattering beiond belief..marco gifted frames on a plate to him with some of this tournamants worst display.

shauns strong point is his long potting but even that wasent fiering on all cylinders when you see Stephen Hendry with a better long pot percentage than shaun murphy in the second round you know if Stephen plays like he did against Ding and Shaun plays like he did against Marco .....Stephen will win.

however tuesday and wednsday are another day and another match who knows how they will play then but hendry played better against Ding under presure than ive seen for best part of 10 years. so he is in with a more than realistic chance of at last being Hendry the 8th.

I couldnt agree more about the performance from Shaun against Marco however the better players tend to get stronger as the tournament progresses as we know. Hendrys performance against Ding was nothing short of fabulous however I just feel as though Shaun will be stronger than hendry throughout the 3 sessions.

[dantuck_7]

My view is that Hendry will get to the semi's and then bottle it. I think it'll be Maguire versus either Day or Allen in the final.