Snooker: Confident Murphy aims to claim Hendry scalp

It is hard to determine whether Crucible Theatre rookie Shaun Murphy possesses more talent than confidence.

Put the two together though and it’s a powerful package which ensures he will not fear his Embassy World Championship baptism of fire against possibly the greatest player of the modern era.

Murphy has been drawn against seven-times Sheffield winner Stephen Hendry in arguably the tie of the first round.

The clash pits the green baize king against the young potting pretender and last season’s Newcomer of the Year cannot wait to start their best-of-19-frames clash on Sunday afternoon.

‘‘My aim is to be the best player in the world,’’ says the confident 19-year-old Northamptonshire professional.

‘‘In a few years, I want people to be asking who’s the greatest player ever, Davis, Hendry or Murphy?’’

Bold words from a youngster who is not even on the main circuit yet.

However, Murphy will be promoted from the UK Challenge Tour next season when he will rub shoulders on a regular basis with the likes of Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams.

Until now, he has been limited to a few matches with the top cuemen.

As winner of the 2000 Benson & Hedges Championship, he qualified for an appearance in the 2001 Masters at Wembley.

Murphy celebrated his debut by beating Hong Kong’s Marco Fu, then the world number 15, 6-1.

That brought him up against six-times Masters champion Hendry, and if this rematch lives up to the quality of that meeting 14 months ago it should be worth watching.

Murphy led 4-1 and only when the enormity of what he was about to achieve hit home did the youngster crumble as Hendry came back to win 6-4.

‘‘You can only learn from playing players like Hendry at the biggest venues,’’ says Murphy.

‘‘Now I’ve got a chance to put that into practice.’’

Murphy might have become a footballer or a golfer had he not opted for snooker.

‘‘When I was about nine or 10 I was asked to play for my local football side, Rushden Rangers, who were then one of the top junior teams in the area.

‘‘But the day of the first match coincided with a monthly snooker handicap so I said ‘thanks but no thanks’ and went off to the club.’’

The love of golf comes from his father Tony, a senior executive with the game’s governing body, the World Snooker Association, but also a former professional golfer.

Murphy senior competed in the 1969 Open Championship at Lytham but later had to give up the game through injury.

Murphy junior, whose handicap is fast approaching single figures, said: ‘‘Dad tells me a story from the Open when he played with the great Dai Rees.

‘‘Dad won the first hole with a birdie but when they got to the second Dai went to tee off. Dad had to say ‘excuse me, it’s my honour’.’’

For now though the golf clubs have been locked away as he prepares to tackle Hendry, who has proved beatable before in the opening round.

Hendry, 14 years his English rival’s senior, lost 10-7 to Stuart Bingham when defending his title in 2000.

And Murphy certainly has the belief he can pull off a similar giant-killing when the match concludes on Monday lunchtime.

He is one of four Crucible debutants this year with Robert Milkins, Mike Dunn and Robin Hull making up the quartet.

World number 72 Dunn defeated Billy Snaddon 10-9 despite losing five of the first six frames and then having to win the last two.

‘‘It’s been a boyhood dream to play at the Crucible and I’ll be going there to win, not to make up the numbers,’’ says the 30-year-old from Redcar.

Milkins, the world number 54, knocked out Malta’s Tony Drago to earn his trip to South Yorkshire.

And Helsinki-born, London-based Hull ended the playing interest of six-times world champion Steve Davis. World number 86 Hull won 10-8 to become the first Finn to compete at the Crucible.