A BRILLIANT clearance in the eighth frame helped Hong Kong’s Marco Fu to score a 5-4 win over former world No. 1 Stephen Hendry at the Honghe Industrial 2007 World Snooker China Open in Beijing yesterday.

Hendry had come from 3-1 down to lead 4-3 thanks to breaks of 108, 53 and 54. The Scot looked set for victory in the next after a run of 58.

But Fu knocked in a long red and compiled a superb 72 clearance.

The Crucible semifinalist then clinched victory in the decider with a break of 63.

“I felt confident because I prepared well for the match,” said world No. 22 Fu.

“Even in the last frame I felt calm. I won my world qualifier (against Michael Judge) 10-9 so I know I can deal with the pressure. When I had my chance I took it.

“Stephen is still a great player on his day but he is not as consistent as he used to be.”

Fu added: “Six Chinese players won their matches yesterday, I’m very happy to see the young talent coming through.”

Graeme Dott, the 888.com World Champion, enjoyed smooth progress with a 5-2 defeat of Thailand’s James Wattana.

John Higgins came from 2-1 down to beat Ian McCulloch, finishing with breaks of 61, 110 and 82.

Neil Robertson, aiming to win his third ranking event of the season, recovered from the loss of the first frame to beat Michael Holt 5-1. The Australian made a 141 in frame four, equaling his career best and setting a new target for the event’s high break prize.

On Monday night, Ding Junhui battled through his opening match to beat Adrian Gunnell 5-3 to reach the last 32.(SD-Agencies)