Stephen Hendry beats Alan McManus in quarter-final - Scottish Professional Snooker Championship 2011
Stephen Hendry is having his eyes set on the World Championship at the Crucible this week, but he is also doing pretty well at the Scottish Professional Snooker Championship 2011. The event is currently taking place at the Lucky Break Snooker Club in Clydebank,
Glasgow. Stephen Hendry defeated Alan McManus quite easily in the quarter-final clash with a 5-2 score-line.
Hendry was one of the top ranked players in the tournament, who were seeded to the quarter-finals including World Number One, John Higgins, Stephen Maguire and Graeme Dott.
McManus, on the other hand, played the preliminary round first due to his position in the ranking. He played brilliantly to book his place in the quarter-finals against the record seven-time world champion, Stephen Hendry.
The Hendry/McManus quarter-final was a tough encounter, as both players tussled in the early frame. They missed many chances to build a powerful break in most of the frames. McManus got a 0-1 early lead in the game after grabbing the scrappy first frame,
followed by Hendry’s century break of 113 to clinch the second frame and level the game at 1-1.
Hendry looked stable and sound in the game after he took the scrappy third frame with a small but effective break of 33, to nudge McManus 2-1 down. McManus was 3-1 down when he fought back to capitalise and took the fifth frame showing strong determination
and grit, to reduce the lead to 3-2.
Hendry did not give his compatriot any chances to bounce back into the game, as he produced quality snooker in the sixth frame and clinched it with relative ease, to extend his match lead to 4-2. An outstanding 95 break from the 42-year-old Scotsman not
only ensured his frame victory, but also booked his spot in the semi-final.
Stephen Hendry was delighted after his win. He expressed his thoughts and said that it was good to grab victory. The cueist added that when one plays Alan, it is always a tough game. Replying to a question asked about meeting John Higgins in the semi-final,
he said that the match will be great, if it happens.
The Scottish Professional Snooker Championship has returned to Scotland after 22 years of its dormancy at the Lucky Break Snooker Club in Clydebank, Glasgow. It took place in 1989 for the last time featuring John Rea as the champion, who defeated Murdo MacLeod
6-5 in the final. The tournament is only for Scottish professional and ex-professional snooker players.
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