SNOOKER – World Championship:Mark Selby won all four frames before the mid-session interval this morning to surge into an 8-4 lead against Stephen Hendry in their Crucible second-round clash.
Breaks of 96, 46 and 44 carried the Leicester player into a 7-4 lead but it looked odds-on that Hendry would win the next frame.
However Selby took a massive stride towards the quarter-finals by fighting back from 60-0 down after Hendry missed a red.
Hendry was looking to find a corner pocket but the red clipped the pack to deflect off its intended path, and Selby cleared up with a break of 62.
Hendry could not bear to watch as the Masters champion made his measured break, and the seven-time winner needed to stage a strong recovery in the remainder of the session to give himself a chance when play resumes this evening.
It was the second time in the match Selby had stunned his Scottish opponent by battling his way back into a frame which looked lost, having pinched the seventh from 75-0 behind yesterday.
The winner goes on to tackle whoever emerges on top in the tight second-round match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams, which is due to resume and play out to a conclusion this afternoon, with the players locked together at 8-8.
China’s Ding Junhui this morning remained in charge of his last-16 clash with 2005 champion Shaun Murphy.
Breaks of 76 and 100 brought Murphy level at 5-5 but Ding hit back to take the two frames before the interval.