Snooker: Hendry at maximum velocity

STEPHEN HENDRY needed just 51 minutes in Bournemouth last night to ensure there was no anti-climax to follow his maximum break at the Liverpool Victoria UK Championship. With the same clinical efficiency he used to reach 147 earlier in the day Hendry quickly added the three frames required to reach the quarter-finals.

Hendry finished a 9-3 winner over Paul Wykes, adding runs of 109, 67 and 79 to his fifth-frame total clearance. He resumed with a 6-2 advantage and though Wykes enjoyed a rare success in frame nine, he potted just two balls in the closing three frames. Hendry next plays Dave Harold tomorrow for a place in the semi-finals.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, the world No 4, resumes this afternoon with a 7-1 lead over Anthony Hamilton. In the closing frame of last night, he knocked in 135 to add to contributions of 67, 126, 85 and 86 to leave him two frames away from the last eight.