"I thought I played a good respot," smiled Bond afterwards. " But when I went in-off, the cue ball was always going towards the middle pocket and I feared the worse from the moment I potted the black."

Bond, runner-up to Hendry in 1995 and who passed his 40th birthday last year, admitted he was delighted to still be competing against the young talents in the game.

"This was pay back time for me, Stephen has given me some pasting here over the years," said Bond who hadn't beaten Hendry for 11 years. "I put myself through the wringer out there and I thought at one stage Stephen might come back and nick the result.

"He was also a bit unlucky towards the end and suffered a kick or two at the wrong time. But I did as well and these things have a habit of evening themselves out."

Bond, the world No 26 added," I felt in good shape really and didn't expect Stephen to have an off day like did as I went 6-3 up overnight. This win though is up there with my great performances of the past but not quite alongside winning the Regal Masters and British Open titles in the 1990's.

Hendry needed a slice of luck to kick start his game as play continued to a finish and it came in the 11th frame just when it seemed he was going 8-3 behind.

But Bond after cutting the green into a middle pocket also went in off into a bottom pocket leaving the Scot to clear to the black to close to 7-4. A scrappy contest saw Hendry eventually lead 8-7 but the Derbyshire professional refused to lie down and tied the scores at 8-8 and again 9-9.

The deciding frame was the longest of the match and with one red left, Bond led 36-32. It was eventually resolved after 49 nerve jangling minutes but not until the 1995 runner-up cleared from blue to pink only to go in off the black to leave a respot to decide the winner.

Justice eventually was done when Hendry left the black near a middle pocket and Bond potted it to go through to a last 16 contest against Graeme Dott.

It was the first time since 1999 that Bond had won a match at the Crucible while Hendry had to go back to his debut year at the Crucible, 1986 for the last time he was beaten in the first round, Willie Thorne winning that one 10-8.

Hendry as he often does after losing, shied away from questions at his press conference and uttered only six words.

They were "I suppose" as he replied to a question suggesting the result must have been heartbreaking considering his fight back and "along with the rest," when asked how the defeat ranked with others at the Crucible.

Ronnie O'Sullivan went through to the last 16 following a 10-4 win over Dave Harold. The Rocket recorded breaks of 139, 106, 100 and 88.

"It's nice to get the first round out of the way," said the 30-year-old from Essex, who recorded his first success since losing in the Masters final to John Higgins in January.

"I got out of the blocks early, to get into my stride and put pressure on Dave. It's nice to be involved in the tournament.

"I feel like I'm enjoying playing snooker at the moment and hopefully I can have a good run here. I'm pleased with my performance and all I can do now is concentrate on my own game."

There is no doubt the world No 1 settled following the 106 break he made in the first frame, the century starting through what Harold described as an "outrageous

fluke".

"That was a killer for me," said the 39-year-old from Stoke. "Ronnie is hard enough to play at any time without this happening. He also enjoyed the little flicks that helped him and all I could do was sit there and laugh. But he still won fair and square."

Peter Ebdon, winner in 2003, won the last two frames to complete a 10-8 victory over Michael Holt.

A seven hour contest saw Ebdon move into a 4-0 and 8-4 lead but fighter Holt hit back to square the match at 8-8.

Ebdon knocked in a crucial break of 35 in frame 17 and a match-winning 49 in the next and faces David Gray or Jimmy White in the last 16 with Gray ahead 6-3 overnight.

Defeat for White, 44 next month, will end his top 32 ranking which he has held for the past 25 years and will mean that next season he will have to attend the qualifying schools in Prestatyn and Sheffield.

Also staring him in the face as well is the fact he might have played his last game at the Crucible as his new ranking means he must win two qualifying rounds to qualify for the Sheffield stages.

John Dee

The Nation

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND