Irish Masters: Hendry blitzes McManus to reach semis
Stephen Hendry achieved the most one-sided victory of the Citywest Irish Masters so far as he crushed Tartan rival Alan McManus 6-1 to reach the last four in Dublin.
The seven-times world champion powered to victory over McManus, who failed to pot a ball in five of the seven frames.
At one stage Hendry, set for his eighth semi-final appearance of the season, outscored the 1993 and 1994 Masters finalist 358-0.
The 32-year-old Scot next meets Mark Williams for a place in Sunday's final at the Citywest Hotel.
And having beaten his Welsh stablemate convincingly last month in the final of the Malta Grand Prix, Hendry will fancy his chances.
"I played pretty well without making any real big breaks. In all the frames I won I needed two visits to win them," said Hendry, bidding for a fourth Irish title.
"But generally I'm happy with my game and that's all you can be. I've been playing well now for three or four months without winning major tournaments."
On his forthcoming match with Williams, Hendry added: "He is the world champion so he is favourite for the tournament. I will have to play as well, if not better, if I'm going to beat him."
