Latest loss hurts Hendry
September 08, 2011 13:38:59 UK
Seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry is set to drop out of the world's top 16.Snooker legend Stephen Hendry faces dropping out of the top 16 in the world rankings, after losing in the first round of the Shanghai Masters.
Seven-time world champion Hendry was beaten 5-1 by England's Robert Milkins and will be outside the world's elite for the first time in well over two decades when the rankings are recalculated at the end of the tournament.
I'm just playing very badly and I've got very little confidence.
Stephen Hendry
Scot Hendry was philosophical about his current predicament, telling World Snooker: "It's disappointing to probably be missing The Masters and maybe the UK Championship.
"But the way I'm playing I'd lose in the first round. I'm just playing very badly and I've got very little confidence."
Hendry is 1213.00 to win an eighth world title in 2012, with Mark Selby 1213.00 and Ronnie O'Sullivan 1.25.
Meanwhile, home hopes were also dashed in the first round in Shanghai as both Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo crashed out, losing to Martin Gould and Neil Robertson respectively.
One man confident of success in China is Stuart Bingham, who thrashed World Championship runner-up Judd Trump 5-1.
England's Bingham is at the peak of his powers, having won his first ranking title, the Australian Goldfields Open, earlier this season.
He said after brushing aside left-hander Trump: "There's no reason why I can't win this, if I play as well as I did in Australia I can do it. I've been playing well for 18 months now and I just want to keep it going."
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