Hendry recovers old glories at UK Championships

Stephen Hendry gave a reminder of why he is the world number one as he opened a 6-2 lead over Mark Williams at the Maplin UK Championship in York today.

The Scot, who dominated the sport during the 1990s, tops the ranking list again even though he has not won a title since the Malta Cup in February 2005.

But three days after he struggled to a 9-7 win over Dave Harold, and refuted suggestions that he could no longer cut it against the younger stars, the 37-year-old produced some impressive form.

Admittedly Williams, a former world number one, was well out of sorts, but Hendry knocked in two century breaks and looked determined to lay down a marker as a possible winner of the event.

There were some sloppy shots from both players and the Welshman was particularly erratic. However, Hendry's runs of 117, 103, 73 and 55 put him firmly on course for a quarter-final clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan.