Hendry in top gear

Stephen Hendry slipped into overdrive this afternoon as a hat-trick of century breaks saw him more than halfway towards his third Regal Welsh Open title.

The Scot was in vintage mood as he built a 5-2 lead over Mark Williams after the first session of the final at Cardiff International Arena.

It means that Hendry requires only four of the remaining 10 frames tonight to end 13 months without a trophy and carry his already record number of world ranking event wins to 34.

Williams, who crushed Hendry 9-2 on the way to becoming UK championship at York last month, made an encouraging start as he stopped Hendry potting a ball in the first frame.

But the seven-times world champion, who triumphed at the inaugural Regal Welsh Open in 1992, soon made amends.

Hendry was on fire in the next four frames as he grabbed control of the high-quality contest with runs of 127, 89, 64 and a lucrative 140 total clearance.

That eclipsed a run of 139 from Finland’s Robin Hull in the last 16 as the highest break of the tournament’s televised phase and will most likely deposit another £7,500 into Hendry’s bulging bank balance.

Hendry’s purple patch quickly transported him into a 4-1 lead and the 34-year-old was handily placed to take the next frame as well.

Overstretching, though, he overcut a red when 41 ahead and given another chance to wrap it up left a tough last red across the top cushion hanging over a pocket.

Having been frozen out for so long, Williams did well to steal the sixth frame on the black with a 34 clearance but it was to prove only a brief respite.

Refusing to dwell on those mistakes, Hendry swiftly regained the initiative with his third ton of a sparkling session, a run of 104. It was his 585th century in professional competition.

They resume at 7.30pm with Hendry clearly in the driver’s seat but in no danger of falling victim to complacency.

Williams famously fought back from 9-6 to edge him 10-9 on a re-spotted black in the final of the 1998 Benson and Hedges Masters and, two years later, rallied from a 5-2 deficit to win 9-5 when they met in the Thailand Masters title decider.