Hendry edges past Wilkinson

By Clive Jones
BBC Sport at the Crucible

Stephen Hendry was not at his best

Stephen Hendry was made to battle hard before securing an uninspired 10-7 win over qualifier Gary Wilkinson.

Hendry held a three-frame lead going into the evening session but Wilkinson claimed the 10th frame with a break of 63.

The pair exchanged the next two frames before Hendry sneaked the 13th on the pink and a 62 in the next put him in sight of the winning line.

Wilkinson dug deep to take the 16th but his efforts were in vain as Hendry sealed the win in the 17th.

"The only plus you can take from that match was that it was a win," said the seven-time champion.

"Gary is a very determined player and he never gives up. Whenever I felt comfortable he kept coming back at me.

"It's got no bearing on how I will play in the next match as my form is very good.

"I'm playing well and it's just first-round jitters at The Crucible."

First round result: S Hendry (Sco) 10-7 G Wilkinson (Eng)
124 (120 break)-16, 83-8, 1-63, 132 (132 break)-0, 12-56, 81-44, 60-63, 75-32, 103-9, 0-64, 71-0, 0-70, 52-43, 76-34, 28-67, 6-63, 67-33