Hendry ready for more titles

Stephen Hendry may have suffered a last-gasp defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Welsh Open – but his performance still means he approaches the Malta Cup with renewed confidence.

The Scot led 7-5 only to be eventually edged out 9-8 by the Rocket in last week’s final; yet the seven-time world champion has fresh belief in his own ability to win more titles.

“I was just sick to the teeth of losing,” said Hendry, who decided enough was enough after being beaten 9-7 by Barry Hawkins in his opening match in November’s UK Championship.

“Since then I’ve been working hard on my game again and putting in the quality practice time I wasn’t before. I’m making encouraging progress,” added the 36 year-old, who has failed to increase his record total of 35 world-ranking titles since the British Open 14 months ago.

“It’s not that I’ve re-discovered a love of the game or anything like that. I always loved it, but practice was becoming a chore. I’ve just realised that to be competitive you’ve got to put the hours in.”

The Malta Cup provides Hendry with an opportunity to exorcise those bad memories of defeat against Hawkins – because he again plays the promising left-hander from London in the last 32.

O’Sullivan, looking for a hat-trick of titles this season, faces controversial Aussie Quinten Hann in his opening match – while rising star Stephen Maguire launches the defence of his title against Northern Ireland’s leading player Joe Swail.