The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hendry eyes pot luck on return to the limelight
A16-year-old Stephen Hendry stepped out for his first-round match at the Mercantile Credit Classic in 1986 with the doubts of his fellow snooker professionals ringing in his ears.
Hendry had been hammered 9-2 on his debut at the UK Championship the previous year by Indian amateur Omprakesh Agrawal, and prospective opponents were relishing the prospect of a relatively easy draw against the inexperienced Scot.
Now, 35 years, seven world titles, 775 century breaks and nearly £9 million in prize money later, the 52-year-old could be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu as he prepares to launch his improbable comeback tonight against his good friend Matthew Selt at the Gibraltar Open.
Expectations for Hendry’s first tour match since his crushing 2012 world quarter-final defeat by Stephen Maguire are not high, with many convinced the strength in depth of today’s tour will leave the game’s most dominant player experiencing little more than embarrassment.
But those who faced Hendry in what effectively constituted his first main draw appearance on the professional ranking tour can still recall how swiftly he shattered those initial preconceptions with his ability and determination.
In his opening match Hendry faced a 46-year-old Dubliner called Dessie Sheehan, who had hovered around the lower reaches of the world’s top 100 for a number of seasons.
Sheehan, now 71 and a recently-retired taxi driver, recalled: “We were playing together at the Pontins Pro-Am and his dad drove us down to the Classic, where we happened to draw each other.
“Straight away you could tell he was a fantastic prospect. I played against all the greats – Alex Higgins and Steve Davis, and I practised with Ronnie (O’Sullivan) – and you could just tell they were going to be world champions.
“Stephen was the same. He had superb cue-ball control and was a fearsome potter.
“But when I heard he was making a comeback I thought it was an April Fool. It’s a lot harder now and he’s going to find it tough.”
Hendry beat Sheehan 5-2, thrashed Graham Miles 5-1, then edged the previous year’s British Open winner Silvino Francisco, then firmly ensconced in the world’s top 16, 5-4 to reach the last 32.
His next opponent was Neal Foulds, five years older than Hendry and already regarded as one of the game’s top prospects having reached two ranking event semi-finals. “I thought it was a good draw for me,” said Foulds, who will commentate on Hendry’s comeback for Eurosport. “I had heard a little bit about Stephen but everyone assumed he had turned pro too early.
“I went in front but all of a sudden he had a little spell where he was knocking in nearly everything. He had a very flashy cue action. It went to a decider and I made one of the best breaks I’ve ever made to win the match.
“He had a real swagger about him. He was immaculately dressed and he didn’t speak to anyone. There was a determination and a ruthlessness about him that I haven’t forgotten.”
The pair would go on to play 15 times in their respective careers and that match in Warrington remained the only one Foulds ever won, the victim, in his own words, of some “merciful hidings” at the hands of the Scot.
It is those painful memories that prevent Foulds from fully buying into the theory that Hendry’s comeback – and improbable ambition of battling through four qualifying rounds to return to the Crucible – is over-ambitious.
“I think it’s great to see Stephen come back,” added Foulds. “Of course the tour has changed and it is going to be difficult for him. But I wouldn’t put anything beyond him, because I know from experience he’s got a very strong mind.”