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Hendry wins but admits snooker is 'torture'
23:45, Dec 6 2009
Stephen Hendry won an absorbing battle with fellow snooker great Steve Davis to reach round two of the Pukka Pies UK Championship - but admitted he was finding the game "torture".
The 40-year-old Scot finished with a century - his third of the match - as he clinched a 9-6 victory over the 52-year-old Essex cueman.
Hendry said: "I won, it's as simple as that. Snooker is torture at the moment. It's very frustrating."
When Davis came through qualifying to set up the clash with Hendry it was perhaps the most eagerly anticipated of the first-round matches.
Yet Davis could not score heavily enough and that was his downfall, even though he kept pace with Hendry for much of the contest.
It was anyone's match at 6-6, however runs of 37, 40, 41 and 112 from Hendry ensured he will go on to tackle Mark Selby in the next round.
Selby staged a brilliant fightback to win his first ranking event match this season.
The 26-year-old Leicester potter was 8-4 down and staring at a dismal defeat to fellow Englishman Jamie Cope, but he reeled off five successive frames to set up a clash with Stephen Hendry or Steve Davis.
Welshman Ryan Day went out of the tournament after a heavy 9-3 defeat to China's Liang Wenbo, but he almost had the consolation of a maximum 147 break.
Australian Neil Robertson converted a 5-3 overnight lead into a 9-3 victory against England's Tom Ford. Grand Prix champion Robertson was clinical on Sunday and made breaks of 48, 64, 53 and 87 before finishing with a break of 119, and he will face Higgins or Ricky Walden next.
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Fleming and Hutchins put GB ahead 16:45, Feb 11 2012
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Cold snap affects sporting weekend 15:45, Feb 11 2012
The cold snap continued to wreak further havoc with the sporting calendar on Saturday after the npower Championship clash between Peterborough and West Ham was postponed due to a frozen pitch along with a number of League One and League Two matches. more
Rangers ease to win at Dunfermline 15:45, Feb 11 2012
Lee McCulloch grabbed his first goal of the season as Rangers fought back from behind to claim a 4-1 win and deny Dunfermline their first home victory of the season in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. more
