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Ssb - hend of an era
Stephen Hendry has always struck me as being rather shy. We are still to find out if he is also retiring.
His 13-4 defeat to Mark Selby today had the feeling of being the end of an era. If he does carry on - and he is yet to fully decide - there is certainly no guarantee he will be back at the Crucible next year.
The discussion over his top 16 place is something of a red herring because he has already declared he won't be playing in the PTCs next season, so he will fall out soon enough under the new ranking system.
I can't see this golf lover forsaking the fairways of Gleneagles for the practice table during the summer with any great enthusiasm as the new season makes an early start.
He doesn't need to slog round small tournaments and qualifiers when he knows, deep down, that his game is not going to return to the heights it hit in the 1990s.
So the end is nigh, if it hasn't already arrived.
Hendry is probably a little nonplussed by the fuss being made. For Stephen, it was never about the acclaim or even the records, just about winning.
He decided at an early age that he would be the best there ever was and set about making that into a reality.
Hendry has struggled for consistent form in recent seasons but can walk away with his head held high.
"Hendry is the greatest snooker player of all time, no doubt. Trust me I have played them all," was Ronnie O'Sullivan's view on Twitter, a gracious and heartfelt tribute to a rival.
Hendry, though, does not just want to turn up at tournaments to be applauded. That isn't him.
It's telling that he considers his greatest performance at the Crucible not to be his first world title or even his seventh, not his comeback against Jimmy White in 1992 or deciding frame win in 1994, but his 18-5 demolition of White in 1993.
Hendry won without mercy or sympathy the way all great champions in any sport do.
Retirement is a difficult decision, particularly as he is only 42. Terry Griffiths is the only top player to retire while still high in the rankings.
Terry did so in 1996 after dropping out of the top 16 but entered the World Championship the following year and qualified before losing 10-9 to a young Mark Williams.
With the new ranking system that option isn't really realistic for Hendry. I'm sure he would shy away from a sympathy wildcard at the Masters or any notion of receiving the kind of send off most will feel he deserves.
In his own head he doesn't need it: he proved he was the best on the table and that is enough for him.
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His 13-4 defeat to Mark Selby today had the feeling of being the end of an era. If he does carry on - and he is yet to fully decide - there is certainly no guarantee he will be back at the Crucible next year.
The discussion over his top 16 place is something of a red herring because he has already declared he won't be playing in the PTCs next season, so he will fall out soon enough under the new ranking system.
I can't see this golf lover forsaking the fairways of Gleneagles for the practice table during the summer with any great enthusiasm as the new season makes an early start.
He doesn't need to slog round small tournaments and qualifiers when he knows, deep down, that his game is not going to return to the heights it hit in the 1990s.
So the end is nigh, if it hasn't already arrived.
Hendry is probably a little nonplussed by the fuss being made. For Stephen, it was never about the acclaim or even the records, just about winning.
He decided at an early age that he would be the best there ever was and set about making that into a reality.
Hendry has struggled for consistent form in recent seasons but can walk away with his head held high.
"Hendry is the greatest snooker player of all time, no doubt. Trust me I have played them all," was Ronnie O'Sullivan's view on Twitter, a gracious and heartfelt tribute to a rival.
Hendry, though, does not just want to turn up at tournaments to be applauded. That isn't him.
It's telling that he considers his greatest performance at the Crucible not to be his first world title or even his seventh, not his comeback against Jimmy White in 1992 or deciding frame win in 1994, but his 18-5 demolition of White in 1993.
Hendry won without mercy or sympathy the way all great champions in any sport do.
Retirement is a difficult decision, particularly as he is only 42. Terry Griffiths is the only top player to retire while still high in the rankings.
Terry did so in 1996 after dropping out of the top 16 but entered the World Championship the following year and qualified before losing 10-9 to a young Mark Williams.
With the new ranking system that option isn't really realistic for Hendry. I'm sure he would shy away from a sympathy wildcard at the Masters or any notion of receiving the kind of send off most will feel he deserves.
In his own head he doesn't need it: he proved he was the best on the table and that is enough for him.
More...
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