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Ssb - leap of faith
Stephen Hendry beat Neil Robertson at the Welsh Open, his best result against a top 16 player for some time, but Hendry then fell cheaply to a 4-0 defeat to Mark Allen.
Such inconsistency has plagued him of late but I have been impressed by his attitude at the qualifiers.
Since dropping out of the top 16 last year Hendry has only once failed to qualify for a tournament (the German Masters).
The ultimate seen-it-all, done-it-all player, he could be forgiven for feeling thoroughly fed up in having to pitch up at the soulless qualifying environment after years in the big arenas.
In fact, Hendry has just got on with it and has got the results he has been looking for even if the performances haven't been vintage.
In this leap year it has been a leap into the unknown for Hendry but he has kept the faith. he still believes. This is half the battle in this game.
Robertson has lost early in his two events since winning the Masters and had a very poor record in China until he reached the Shanghai Masters semi-finals earlier this season. Frankly, though, he didn't do much wrong against an inspired Hendry in Newport.
The big shock yesterday was Ding Junhui's 5-1 defeat to Jin Long.
I wonder if Ding feels under more pressure when playing a fellow Chinese, as if he feels he is top dog and has to try harder to prove it.
Who knows? Snooker players are bedevilled by doubts and neuroses. This makes them no different to anyone else, the only difference being the rest of us don't have them so publically exposed.
Ding is the standard bearer of the Chinese snooker revolution but one day there will be a coup and he will be replaced.
Perhaps it will be by Lu Ning, the 18 year-old who beat Nigel Bond in the wildcard round and who now plays Mark Selby today.
What many people don't realise is the extent of the demands on Ding when he returns to China.
He is earning a good living as a snooker player and personal appearances, media interviews and dates for sponsors are all part of that...but his time is rarely his own in a way UK players don't have to deal with.
Finally some good news. Following my rant about scheduling on Sunday the China Open format reveals there will indeed be two first round matches played on the opening day in Beijing, the day traditionally set aside for wildcards.
I'm not saying I had anything to do with this but it is good news for the tournament: launching with top players and providing broadcasters with matches of interest.
More...
Such inconsistency has plagued him of late but I have been impressed by his attitude at the qualifiers.
Since dropping out of the top 16 last year Hendry has only once failed to qualify for a tournament (the German Masters).
The ultimate seen-it-all, done-it-all player, he could be forgiven for feeling thoroughly fed up in having to pitch up at the soulless qualifying environment after years in the big arenas.
In fact, Hendry has just got on with it and has got the results he has been looking for even if the performances haven't been vintage.
In this leap year it has been a leap into the unknown for Hendry but he has kept the faith. he still believes. This is half the battle in this game.
Robertson has lost early in his two events since winning the Masters and had a very poor record in China until he reached the Shanghai Masters semi-finals earlier this season. Frankly, though, he didn't do much wrong against an inspired Hendry in Newport.
The big shock yesterday was Ding Junhui's 5-1 defeat to Jin Long.
I wonder if Ding feels under more pressure when playing a fellow Chinese, as if he feels he is top dog and has to try harder to prove it.
Who knows? Snooker players are bedevilled by doubts and neuroses. This makes them no different to anyone else, the only difference being the rest of us don't have them so publically exposed.
Ding is the standard bearer of the Chinese snooker revolution but one day there will be a coup and he will be replaced.
Perhaps it will be by Lu Ning, the 18 year-old who beat Nigel Bond in the wildcard round and who now plays Mark Selby today.
What many people don't realise is the extent of the demands on Ding when he returns to China.
He is earning a good living as a snooker player and personal appearances, media interviews and dates for sponsors are all part of that...but his time is rarely his own in a way UK players don't have to deal with.
Finally some good news. Following my rant about scheduling on Sunday the China Open format reveals there will indeed be two first round matches played on the opening day in Beijing, the day traditionally set aside for wildcards.
I'm not saying I had anything to do with this but it is good news for the tournament: launching with top players and providing broadcasters with matches of interest.
More...