Snooker: Hendry in control against Hunter

Stephen Hendry took complete control of his Embassy World Championship second round match against Paul Hunter.

The 32-year-old Scot had played superbly to take a 6-2 overnight lead and while his break-building was not quite as hot when the contest resumed, he still extended his advantage to 12-4 at the end of the morning session.

Hendry will resume at 6:45 tonight needing just one frame from the remaining nine to send him through to a quarter-final meeting with Matthew Stevens.

Many experts had tipped Hunter, who won a dramatic Benson and Hedges Masters final against Fergal O'Brien in February, to knock out Hendry on the form they had shown in the first round at the Crucible.

But the performance the former world number one produced on Sunday indicated that the self-doubt so evident in his unconvincing opening victory over Mark Davis had been eradicated from his game.

Hendry's play this morning was solid rather than spectacular and he did not need to make a 50 break to win two of the first three frames, sandwiching a run of 74 by his opponent.

His first half-century of the session came just before the interval with a 54 putting the frame beyond the 22-year-old from Leeds, who tried to gain the two snookers he needed but could not stop his deficit becoming six.

Hendry continued to turn the screw on Hunter from the restart and a break of 60 put him 10-3 ahead.

But Hunter, whose first-round win over David Roe was his first ever at the Crucible, ensured that the match would need an extra session tonight' by knocking in a 65.

It proved only a brief respite for Hunter as the last two frames of the session both went to Hendry, who was putting on a supremely professional display.

Little was going Hunter's way and when he missed the penultimate red in frame 16, Hendry capitalised by clearing up.

On the other table, Northern Ireland's Patrick Wallace was keeping ahead of fellow qualifier Mark King in their battle to clinch a last-eight meeting with Mark Williams' conqueror Joe Swail.

It was slow going and Wallace, a lifelong friend of Swail, took today's opener before Romford-based King pulled one back to trail 6-4.

King hit back to just one frame behind Wallace, but the Ulsterman regained his two-frame cushion at 7-5 with a fine clearance of 125.

A damaging blow for King came when he allowed frame 13 to slip from his grasp, the world number 22 losing a 36-point lead as Wallace extended his lead to three frames at 8-5.

The Essex man was also in prime position to win the next but missed a black off the spot at 49-0 up and the Ulsterman again rallied to snatch the frame.

Wallace, who trounced eighth seed Alan McManus in round one, was now well in command and contributions of 54 and 22 gave him a 10-5 lead.

World number 59 Wallace, from Dungannon, who won three matches just to clinch a place at the Crucible, was only two frames away from a dream clash with Swail when he took the last of the session to lead 11-5.