Hendry close to exit despite 147 break

Stephen Hendry will be richly rewarded for his 147 maximum break but his Betfred.com World Championship title bid could be all over by Wednesday lunchtime.

His opponent Shaun Murphy was stirred into action by Hendry's mesmerising perfect clearance in the seventh frame of the day, which made the 40-year-old the oldest player to achieve the maximum feat in a ranking tournament.

Murphy won seven of the next nine frames to establish a 9-7 lead to take into Wednesday morning's concluding session, leaving him four frames away from a clash with Neil Robertson or Stephen Maguire in the semi-finals.

Hendry stands to pocket a £157,000 bonus, unless any other player makes a 147 in the next six days, and the tournament sponsors will make a separate £147,000 donation to Sport Relief.

But if he goes out in the quarter-finals all the money heading his way will come as scant consolation to the seven-time former world champion who has made a considerable fortune from the sport already.

Hendry has spoken of a strong belief that he can be champion again this year, 10 years since he last triumphed at the Crucible.

When he surged three frames clear on the back of his maximum break it did look as though the Perthshire cueman had rediscovered the prowess which allowed him to dominate the sport in the 1990s.

He was playing well enough to suggest only one match outcome was possible, but Murphy had other ideas. He reeled off five frames in a row, playing stunning snooker as Hendry's performance wilted.

Mark Allen, the 23-year-old Northern Irish player who knocked out Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round, will take a 9-7 lead into Wednesday afternoon's concluding session of his match against Ryan Day.

The winner of that quarter-final will face either John Higgins or Mark Selby for a place in the final. Leicester cueman Selby made three centuries and a break of 96 in a high-quality first session of his last-eight clash with Wishaw's Higgins, but had to settle for deadlock at 4-4.