Hendry’s most dominant year was 1996. He won the triple crown in the 1995/96 season and either side of that won the World Championship in 1995 and the UK Championship in 1996 for 5 triple crown events in a row. That UK Championship win in 1996 was the 17th of the Hendry 18 triple crown wins.
Ronnie, John Higgins and Mark Williams were all just 21, emerging and nowhere near their prime in 1996. Mark Williams hadn’t even appeared at the Crucible. Williams made his debut there in 1997. Hendry was more or less done with the serious winning after 1996, adding the last of his 7 Crucible wins in 1999.
It’s also worth noting that of the 35 matches that Hendry won at the Crucible in winning his 7 world titles, he only twice beat former champion - Terry Griffiths 16-4 in the 1992 semi final and Steve Davis 16-9 in the 1994 semi final. Both Griffiths and Davis were well past their prime at that stage.
The standard outside of Hendry in the early to mid 90’s was woeful.
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If snooker has declined, how come Hendry couldn’t keep up with Ronnie past reaching the final in 2002?
He was still a young enough man - 33 years of age. He did nothing at all of note after that.
I’ll bring the bread and you bring the ham for the sandwiches.
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Century up for Judd first frame to cut the deficit to 6-12.
Hendry didn’t have any true peers. Davis was done after 1990. Jimmy challenged him for a few years, always lost when it mattered, and then fell away.
Then Hendry fell away.
O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams were and are all true peers of each other. They’ve pushed each other on in a way that didn’t happen with previous players.
Preparation is more professional now, players tend to go on longer than previously, you see it across all sports. Snooker is not immune to that.
Yet those three have had various peaks and troughs.
It’s rare enough that players come up against each other at their respective peaks.
The 1990 UK final is the closest we had to peak Hendry v peak Davis, and even then Davis was probably slightly over the hill.
We got peak Hendry v peak White alright.
But peak Hendry never played peak O’Sullivan or peak Higgins. Hendry’s battles with Wiliams in the 1998 Masters final and 1999 World Championship final were slightly post-peak Hendry v slightly pre-peak Williams.
Higgins v O’Sullivan was the longest run in the modern history of the game where two greats consistently played each other at their peaks.
Hendry played O’Sullivan four times in World Championship semi-finals - 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2008. Of those four, 1999 and 2002 were the closest to both players being at their respective peaks and Hendry won them. By 2004 and 2008 Hendry was done.
In short, if 1992-96 Hendry came up against a peak O’Sullivan (which we probably still have) or even a peak Higgins (which we don’t), I wouldn’t want to call it.
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Hendry in fairness just lost his appetite. He’d done it all over and over again and had no peers really for a decade. It happens with nearly all greats in every sport who dominate without anyone really to push them.
It’s difficult to separate them. Unquestionably the two greatest players ever. I’d shade it to Ronnie for 2 reasons - his longevity and that general X factor in the aesthetic quality of his play/crowd pleaser/natural ability.
Hendry got the yips and he never adapted his game. All out attack was never going to work agsinst new generation who had a better safety game. Hendry did not want to work on his safety game. That and the yips was his demise
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Wasn’t Davis’s period of dominance just as impressive as Hendry’s in a eta where snooker was serious box office
Ronnie was more naturally gifted than Hendry but he should have more than 7. No one bettered Hendry. It was one visit snooker. You missed once you were lucky to get back in. Ronnie allowed Selby get the better of him on a few occasions. Lot of recency bias with Ronnie. I was a Jimmy fan so wasn’t a fan of Hendry. That 147 in the deciding frame after losing 6 in a row shows the kind of stuff Hendry was made of. Ronnie has never dominated snooker the way Hendry and Davis did.
That’s a fair point.
Hendry beat Doherty in the final of the UK around 1995 and he was unbelievable. He won 10-5 and Doherty played well.
Good start from Judd. He’s going to close the gap to 7-12 here taking the second frame of the afternoon as well.
Hendry’s favourite cue got broken too.
His game was gone by then
Judd in again first in frame 20 with a good long red. Be interesting if he could capitalise here and win three on the bounce.
That’s a fine pressure pot to the middle. Encouraging for Judd and for the match.
Judd’s potting game seems to have returned even if his positional play isn’t all it might be. 12-8.
Three on the bounce for Judd 12-8.
If he could get out here even four behind going in to tonight it would be interesting. Ronnie has lost some amount of finals the last two year.
Ronnie misses a black off the spot.