Match Reports from the 888.com World Snooker Championship
Struggling Hendry Clings To Gilbert
Stephen Hendry 4 - 5 Dave Gilbert
Stephen Hendry started his campaign woefully, but made a late recovery to keep Dave Gilbert in sight.
In his 21 previous Crucible appearances, the 38-year-old can hardly have played as badly as he did for the first half of the session.
The Scot took the first frame with a 51 break, but then every aspect of his game went to pieces. Gilbert was given repeated chances to settle, and despite not playing particularly well, the world number 67 took full advantage.
Incredibly, the 25-year-old went 4-1 up after the interval with a high break of just 34. He went 5-1 ahead with a superb century in the sixth, which seemed to ignite Hendry.
The seven-time world champion finally roused himself to win the last three frames of the session to be just one behind at the break.
From the way he played, Hendry will be pleased to be in contention. Although his opponent is still ahead, the chance for an upset here may have gone.
By David Pritchard
