Stephen Hendry's decision to use a new cue for the 888.com World Championship having practised with it for only four weeks appears to have backfired.
He trails Ali Carter 12-4 and is set for a disappointing second round defeat at the Crucible today.
He will be 39 next year and, as it stands, the likelihood of him landing an eighth world title is diminishing.
He has nothing to prove, but won't want to carry on much longer if he can't find some form.
His performance against Carter was a world away from his supreme best.
What does he do now? Dump the new cue and revert to the old one or even get a new one?
Whatever, he seems low on confidence and set for elimination when he and Carter resume at 2.30pm.
3 comments:
I believe Hendry knows what he is doing when he swap cues... paying 10,000 for his now-broken cue versus changing a cue just 4 weeks prior to wsc... is a major contrast.
i've been a fan of Stephen for over 20 years, but I think the time has come for him to retire. He doesn't want to play a more conservative game to give himself a chance now he doesn't pot so well - the first session against Carter he threw away at least two of the frames by trying for pots that were only 30% chances at best, and three times last night he conceded with lots of reds left when he could have played for snookers - or at least slowed Carter down. His ambitions to work in the snooker media are clear and it might be a better focus for his attentions now. I would hate to see the greatest player ever play on only to the standard he brought to Sheffield this year.
Hendry's title winning days are gone.It's a shame that any great sportsman shows signs of decline but it is inevitable.I'm sure he still believes he will win tournaments but his game is no longer consistent enough to achieve it.
I don't think now is the time to write any kind of snooker obituary though.
DJ
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