Stephen Hendry whitewashed by Matthew Stevens at German Masters snooker as miserable run continues
Stephen Hendry suffered a miserable 5-0 defeat to old rival Matthew Stevens on Thursday in the first round of German Masters qualifying at Leicester’s Morningside Arena.
The pair first met at the 1996 Grand Prix with Hendry defeating the Welshman 13-5 in the quarter-finals of the 1999 World Championship, scene of Hendry’s seventh and final world title triumph at the Crucible Theatre.
Stevens also edged out Hendry 10-8 in the 2003 UK Championship final, but their latest duel was never in doubt as world No. 49 Stevens made breaks of 61 and 78 in easing through to the last 64 and a meeting with UK finalist Ding Junhui on Saturday morning.
German Masters
Gilbert faces disciplinary probe after astonishing mid-match walk-out
8 HOURS AGO
Hendry’s latest defeat sees him continue to struggle for wins among the sport’s elite.
He retired after losing 13-2 to fellow Scot Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals of the 2012 World Championship due to a decline in consistency, but decided to return in 2021 after being handed a wildcard to compete on the main tour by former WST chairman Barry Hearn in 2020.
Hendry has so far won only three out of 14 matches, including a 6-3 World Championship qualifying victory over Jimmy ‘Whirlwind’ White, the man he famously defeated in four world finals.
‘Vintage Hendry!’ – Seven-time world champion produces glorious century in comeback match
Ding made breaks of 59 and 90 on his way to leading 3-0. Brown won the fourth frame with a 55 but lost the sixth frame despite contributing 53 before Ding finished with a majestic 143 to move within one win of a place in Berlin.
The last 32 qualify for the finals venue in Berlin between February 1-5, 2023, live on discovery+ and Eurosport.
Thursday’s German Masters qualifying results
Last 128
- Si Jiahui 5-3 Xu Si
- Ben Woollaston 5-2 Stuart Bingham
- Ryan Thomerson 5-1 Dylan Emery
- Joe Perry 5-3 Oliver Lines
- Chris Wakelin 5-2 John Astley
- Andy Hicks 5-2 David Gilbert (Gilbert conceded trailing 2-3 and 1-56)
- Matthew Stevens 5-0 Stephen Hendry
- Luca Brecel 5-2 Chang Bingyu
- Ding Junhui 5-1 Jordan Brown
Last 64
- Jack Lisowski 5-3 Jackson Page
- Ali Carter 5-2 Robbie Williams
- Elliot Slessor 5-4 Sanderson Lam
- Ross Muir 5-3 Liam Highfield
- Xiao Guodong 5-4 Hossein Vafaei
- Zhang Anda 5-2 James Cahill
– – –
Snooker
‘He owes the game more’ – Murphy doubles down on O’Sullivan criticism
YESTERDAY AT 18:44
German Masters
UK champion Allen suffers whitewash defeat in German Masters qualifying, White triumphs
YESTERDAY AT 17:26
Read the full article Here
