January 28, 2003	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 24, 1423

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CARDIFF, Jan 27: Stephen Hendry, snooker’s greatest ever player, proved that his best years are not yet behind him with a fantastic display in the final of the Regal Welsh in Cardiff tonight (Sunday).

The 34-year-old from Perthshire won the event for a record third time with a 9-5 defeat of Mark Williams in a high-quality final. Hendry scored four century breaks and four more over 60 in a performance reminiscent of his 1990s prime.

The seven-times world champion won this tournament in its inaugural year in 1992 and fittingly took it for the third time in this, the final year of the present sponsorsp.

He pocketed a cheque for $82,500 from a total prize fund of $597,200. World No 2 Williams, who has recently moved to Cardiff and was well supported by a full house at the International Centre with boxer Joe Calzaghe among the crowd, was disappointed to finish second best though he barely put a foot wrong.

For world No 6 Hendry, victory represented the 34th ranking title of his career and his first since the European Open 14 months ago. He moves above Ronnie O’Sullivan to second in the points list.

Leading 5-2 after the first session, Hendry was straight back into his groove with a smooth 108 (the 587th century of his career and fourth of the match), missing the black off the last red when poised for a 142 which would have beaten his own mark of 140 for the £7,500 high break prize.

For the first time in the contest, errors crept into Hendry’s game and two missed reds in the next couple of frames let Williams in for runs of 87 and 54 to reduce his deficit to 6-4.

Frame 11, perhaps the most pivotal of the match, came down to the colours.

Williams attempted to drop a tricky blue into a centre pocket from close range but bounced it off the far jaw. Hendry cleared the table to take a 7-4 advantage into the mid-session interval.

A missed pink from the Scot early in the next put Williams in for a run of 50 and he took the frame despite missing a pink to the centre as Hendry failed on an identical pink to the same pocket. Williams was among the balls first in the 13th frame but missed a difficult black along the top cushion on 31 and Hendry took full advantage with 92 to go three up with four to play.

At this stage, the Welshman may have been reminding himself of his 9-8 victory from 8-4 down against Hendry in the 2001 UK Championship and his equivalent recovery against Anthony Hamilton in the final of last season’s China Open.

But there was little he could do in the last frame as Hendry cracked in a long red to begin a break of 91 which finished the frame and match. Finals Round One Semifinals: Williams bt Hunter 6-2; Hendry bt Fu 6-4 Final: Hendry bt Williams 9-5.