Wheels come off Hendry's maximum bid

Stephen Hendry should be the owner of a bright yellow Honda sports car valued at £80,000 (€120,000) this morning, but will instead have to make do with driving his top of the range Mercedes.

The high-speed vehicle is the prize available to the first player since Kirk Stevens in 1984 to compile a maximum break at the Benson and Hedges Masters.

And time is running out for the 34-year-old Scot if he is to achieve one of the few feats to have so far eluded him.

At least Hendry has one or possibly two more opportunities to score a 147 in the final weekend of the last ever Masters.

He scored three century breaks in a 6-4 quarter-final victory over Jimmy White, including an agonising miss at snooker’s perfect break in frame eight.

Hendry was within two balls of his ninth career maximum when he surprisingly missed the pink. His frustration was obvious to see as he threw his cue onto the table and slumped over the green baize after being so near yet so far.

Hendry didn’t even overtake Paul Hunter’s 138 that currently leads for a £22,000 high-break bonus.

“I just hit the pink badly, there are no excuses,” lamented the world number six who meets stablemate Ken Doherty for a place in his ninth Masters final.

“I will wake up in a cold sweat after that miss. I had a maximum on a plate but I didn’t serve it up.

“The car was in the garage and the money was in the bank,” added Hendry, after scraping though this 50th meeting between the pair.

Even White’s vociferous fan club in a capacity 2,500 crowd wouldn’t have begrudged Hendry his moment of glory.

“The crowd was magnificent and the boos at the start were nothing I haven’t had before. I just wish I could have a crowd like that backing me for once,” said Hendry.

White joked later: “I had some verbals ready for him. I was going to ask hadn’t he got enough cars already.

“To be honest, I’m more devastated this is going to be the last Masters than losing to Hendry.”

Dubliner Doherty is bidding for a third B&H final in five years and is marginally disappointed not to be playing White.

“Stephen is the greatest player to have picked up a cue but it would have been special to play Jimmy in front of his home crowd,” said the 1999 and 2000 runner-up. “Especially as it’s the last Masters.”

Doherty enjoyed a day off from the action yesterday and while he will respect Hendry, he won’t fear him.

The 1997 world champion held his composure to edge world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-5 in his own quarter-final.

The semi-final line-up features Irishman Doherty, Scotsman Hendry, an Englishman Paul Hunter and a Welshman Mark Williams.

Defending champion Hunter defeated Williams 10-9 in the 2002 final but lost 6-2 in the penultimate round of last month’s Welsh Open at Cardiff.

“I’ve got a good record against Paul, though I’m not sure it will count for anything,” said Williams after his superb 6-3 victory over John Higgins yesterday. “He will probably think about it more than I will.”

Ironically, Williams spoke of Hendry’s desire to compile a maximum after his earlier win.

“I don’t get many chances for a 147 break,” he said. “But if you get half a chance you have got to go for it.

“Besides, it’s the last chance this year to get one at the Masters. I certainly think Hendry is looking for that car.”

And don’t bet against Hendry getting his hands on the keys at anytime in the next two days.