Hendry to dust off cue for a new Seniors Tour
STEPHEN HENDRY is fronting a brand new World Seniors Tour in snooker.
The seven-time world champion came out of retirement last season for the World Seniors event, with the winner earning a qualifying spot for the World Championship.
Now Hendry is dusting off his cue for another four tournaments this season.
It’s the first time there has been a seniors tour and amateurs over 40 can qualify
SNOOKER
to play legends of the game Hendry, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, John Parrott, Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn and Joe Johnson in the four main events.
The UK Championship will take place in October, the Irish Masters in January, the World Championship in March – with the winner again getting a spot in the Crucible qualifiers – and the Masters finishing the tour. ANDY MURRAY threatened to go on a bizarre sit-down protest before standing up to be counted in another up-anddown match in Paris.
The world No.1 constantly shouted at himself and his team throughout his 6-7 6-2 6-2 7-6 win over hard-hitting Martin Klizan.
ITV commentators had to apologise for his on-court language – and the cries of a baby interrupted play in the fourth set.
And the Scot even told umpire Emmanuel Joseph he was going to take French-style strike action during the first-set tie-break because of the movement of a courtside camera.
The Wimbledon champion said: “I don’t like it when the Spidercam is in my ball toss.
“It was there at the beginning of the match. It was the same thing in the first round. It happened three or four times in the first round when it was there. I asked for it to be moved. They moved it. Then it comes back.
“I just don’t like it there. It really puts me off my serve and I asked a few times today and it kept coming back. I just said, ‘If it’s there in my ball toss again I’m going to sit down and wait for it to move because I just don’t feel I should have to be asking for it every change of ends to not be there’.
“It’s quite a simple thing to change. I just don’t like it and I would prefer if it was not there when I’m serving.”
With his power hitting and maddening drop shots, left-hander Klizan is a frustrating player to face. And Murray showed his frustation throughout the secondround match.
During the first set he was complaining about his lack of footwork and sarcastically told himself: “Moving like a dream”.
Murray changed tactics and stood further back to receive serve in the second set and won seven games in row.
But as he fought back from a break down in the fourth set he told his box: “This is the flattest I have seen you guys for a long time.”
The Scot said: “I think a lot of time when I’m playing, and especially when I’m frustrated or down, I don’t always project a lot of positivity on the court.
“Sometimes I think also for my team it’s difficult to know exactly how I’m feeling or what it is I need when I’m on the court.
“So I think my job is to try to be more positive while I’m out there.
“And I think that helps my whole team. They also feed off that a little bit as well.
“But the last few months have obviously been tough, not been a lot of good stuff going on out there. When I’m getting frustrated I think it’s not easy for them either.
“It was a good match for me to get through today. And hopefully we get a chance to do better in the next one.”
Next up is Argentine ace Juan
NEIL McLEMAN IN PARIS
sport@dailyrecord.co.uk Martin del Potro in a repeat of their epic Olympic final – and a real challenge with Murray still not in top form.
Eurosport analyst Greg Rusedski said: “We’re just waiting for the great tennis from Murray and he’ll need it in the next round against del Potro.
“He needs more consistency, if he’s as patchy against del Potro he’s not going to get through.”
But Murray said: “I definitely feel like I’m capable of winning that match. It’s a tough match.
“He’s, in my opinion, one of the best players in the world when he’s fit and healthy.
“But I’m playing way better than I was two weeks ago and today’s match will have done me a lot of good because physically I pulled up well and felt good so I will gain a lot of confidence from that.
“And also today I hit a lot of balls out there, more than the firstround match.
“It seems like everyone thinks I didn’t play particularly well but there was some good stuff against a tough opponent. It’s not easy to play against someone like him. Hopefully I will keep improving in the next one.”
Meanwhile, former world No.1 Jim Courier claimed Kyle Edmund can become a top-10 player after the British No.3 reached the third round. The Yorkshireman beat Renzo Olivo – the Argentine who knocked out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – 7-5 6-3 6-1.
Edmund said: “It’s nice to hear someone like Jim say that about me.
“You know, he has been around the game a long time. It is down to me to do that and to put the work in.”
Edmund will now take on Kevin Anderson after the world No.62 shocked Nick Kyrgios – and caused the Aussie to get slapped with a penalty point for smashing his racquet into a water cooler in anger.
I don’t like it when the Spidercam is in my ball toss.. it