SNOOKER WORLD CHAMPIOSHIP: Ken Doherty fought off a brave challenge by Englishman Stuart Bingham to win his first-round match at the World Championships in Sheffield last night.
Doherty led 9-7 and seemed set for victory, but Bingham, ranked 44 in the world came back to 9-8.
The Irishman, however, finally stamped his authority on the match in the final frame, winning 117-3 after a break of 105. Doherty will now face Mark King in the next round. King had an emphatic 10-5 victory over David Gray.
Michael Judge exited the tournament when he lost 4-10 to Peter Ebdon. The match was finely poised when it resumed yesterday evening, with Ebdon leading 5-4, but the English player closed out the next five frames to win.
Not usually noted for his fast play, Ebdon wasted little time in the evening session, starting with a 102 break. He then reeled off the next three frames to lie within one frame of victory at the mid-session interval, and closed out the match in the next frame.
Ebdon later told the BBC that he preferred the longer-frame matches, because it allowed him to make the most of his training regime.
"I swim between a half-mile and a mile each day," he said. "It's the first time I've kept up the routine throughout a whole season.
"The year I got to the final, I was swimming a mile three times a week. I've only missed three weeks this season.
"I've always enjoyed playing long matches and I know how much it takes out of you, so this regime is helping with that."
Stephen Hendry began his bid for an eighth world title with a 10-4 win over England's Shaun Murphy.
Scotsman Hendry, who has won a record seven world championships, has had to yield to young guns like Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins in recent seasons and is seeded just fifth for this year's tournament.
But Hendry showed he is still a contender for the game's biggest prize with a convincing display.
"Shaun's got a lot of talent and strikes the ball very well. But you need more than just talent to get to the top," said 33-year-old Hendry, who will face Alan McManus or Anthony Davies on Saturday.
"Any first-round match here can be tough - it depends what you let yourself get drawn into. I just played my own game.
"This tournament is all about pacing yourself, and the longer you stay in it the more you improve. I believe I can still win it."
Murphy, a qualifier who won four matches to reach this stage, extended his debut by winning the last two frames of Sunday's opening session.
But Hendry turned a 6-3 lead into a 9-3 advantage before Murphy pulled one back. However, that was just the prelude to an expert finish from Hendry who ended the match with a break of 111.
"I'm very pleased with the way I played and I think I conducted myself properly," said Murphy, last season's Newcomer of the Year.
"I've a lot of respect for Stephen and he went about his job so professionally.
"I was nervous when I walked through the famous curtain into the arena. But playing at the Crucible is like visiting a nice restaurant - you have a good meal and you want to go back."
Jimmy White had his opening session ended early - because the match was too slow.
The six-time runner-up was playing Dominic Dale of Wales in the first round and although the popular Londoner took control, he was a long way below his flamboyant best.
Both players were struggling and after White, who will celebrate his 40th birthday later in the tournament, had moved 6-2 ahead, the contest was halted so the table could be prepared for the evening's action.
Two of the frames lasted well over half an hour and the highest break was a mere 58, which suggests the duo are in for a late night when the match concludes tomorrow unless they raise their game considerably.
Ironically, the match on the other table involved Chris Small, the sedate Scot who has been involved in more than his fair share of marathons at the Crucible over the years.
When the White and Dale match was pulled, Small and Stephen Lee had just started the final frame of their session - and the decision to go ahead with it soon began to look questionable.
It proved even more of a battle of attrition than any of the previous eight and after 32 minutes of toil, Lee conceded as soon as he needed snookers to have his lead cut to 5-4.
FIRST ROUND: S Hendry (Sco) bt S Murphy (Eng) 10-4, (Frame scores (Hendry 1st): 83-36 9-93 130-0 (130 break) 74-27 56-51 87-40 60-49 7-69 32-69 80-26 119-6 72-24 0-88 111-12 (111 break), M Stevens (Wal) bt M Dunn (Eng) 10-6, P Ebdon (Eng ) bt M Judge (Irl) 10-4. Frame scores (Ebdon first): 55-9 82-24 57-71 78-49 57-64 16-115 (102 break) 77-22 87-0 59-67 102-29 (102 break) 67-25 76-50 88-37 122-5 (101 break). K Doherty (Irl) bt S Bingham (Eng) 10-8.
