HENDRY BACK IN THE FRAME AND BUZZING AGAIN
STEPHEN HENDRY has nothing to prove, yet the allconquering Scot still has a burning ambition to once again shine at the top level.
Hendry shocked many people this week with the announcement he was coming out of retirement after an eight-year hiatus.
The 51-year-old accepted a two-year invitational tour card to play on the professional circuit.
And, although winning tournaments is a dream scenario, the seven-time world champion admits he’s focused on enjoying the atmosphere of playing at major tournaments again and trying to rediscover his undoubted class.
‘I’m not putting any pressure on myself,’ said Hendry. ‘But that competitiveness will always rumble underneath. I don’t think you ever lose that as a top sportsman.
‘Whether you are playing tiddlywinks or your chosen sport, you are always going to have that competitive instinct.
‘I’m not going to lie. If I don’t perform it will disappoint me, but it is a different situation.
‘(Back) then, I was seen as someone who should possibly still win and I couldn’t. Now I am a total underdog, so we’ll see what happens.
‘If I do play well and go deeper into tournaments, I will have to deal with that pressure.’
Hendry bowed out at the 2012 World Championship in Sheffield, announcing his retirement at the iconic Crucible Theatre after a 13-2 quarter-final demolition by compatriot Stephen Maguire.
But that was not before the illustrious Scot had pocketed a magical maximum 147 break in a 10-4 win over Stuart Bingham and then hammered John Higgins 13-4 in the second round of snooker’s premier tournament.
Common sense means his best years are behind him, but Hendry was a hungry winner in his pomp and still has plenty to offer the game.
And when he’s not commentating for the BBC at major tournaments, the Scot wants to give his loyal supporters something to smile about.
He has been working with Steve Feeney, a respected coach who has been credited with resurrecting Mark Williams’ career and helping him win a third world title aged 43 — and 15 years after his second Crucible crown.
A dominant force in snooker, Hendry won five world titles and five Masters titles in a row, never achieved by anyone else in the history of the sport.
It was only last month that Ronnie O’Sullivan bettered Hendry’s record of 36 ranking titles when he won a sixth World Championship crown.
But the Scot still holds the record for world titles — and he’s got the bug back again, having played in the World Senior Championships at the Crucible last month.
‘There were a few occasions where I was on auto pilot and it was all happening,’ said Hendry. ‘Frames where I just started flowing and scoring. That is what my game is all about, getting in early.
‘But for me the buzz of being in an occasion, playing snooker in front of a packed audience, is what it’s all about. I’ve always missed that buzz.
‘The ultimate goal is to walk out at the Crucible again, but that is a long way off.
‘It isn’t the comeback to win eight world titles, it isn’t a full-time comeback.’