Malta exit a sickener for Hendry

Stephen Hendry lost 5-4 to Ali Carter in the quarter-finals of the Malta Cup and then revealed he had been hampered by a severe stomach complaint, reports BBC Sports:

The Scot was diagnosed with a bout of gastroenteritis and only played after an injection from a doctor. Carter now meets Shaun Murphy in the last four after he eased past world champion Graeme Dott 5-2. Ryan Day beat Mark King 5-1 to reach his first ranking semi-final. He faces Peter Ebdon, who beat Ken Doherty 5-3.

Hendry believed a chicken and prawn meal at a nearby Indian restaurant the night before may have caused his stomach upset. I was aware that Stephen wasn't feeling too clever but I knew that he would still be tough to beat. He arrived sweating and feeling weak at the venue and was given special dispensation to play in an open-necked shirt rather than the normally compulsory bow tie. "It's really disappointing," said the seven-time world champion.

"There were times when I thought I wasn't going to be able to play but the injection stopped me feeling quite so bad and I decided to give it a go. "It was difficult to play but there are no excuses. I did well enough to win four frames so I can't really complain about not winning five." It will be Carter's second appearance in the semi-finals of a world ranking event, the first coming at the 1999 Grand Prix in Preston. He said: "I was aware that Stephen wasn't feeling too clever but I knew that he would still be tough to beat. "But I'm pleased I showed the character to come back from 4-3 down."...