• World Darts Championship

Taylor stutters past Hendriks

Phil Taylor was not at his best against Jery Hendriks © PA Photos

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• Profile: Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor's patchy form at the World Championship continued as he stumbled to a 4-1 win over Jerry Hendriks in the second round.

The 15-time world champion was unimpressive in beating Mickey Mansell in the first round and it was a similar story against Hendriks.

He started slowly, his scoring was below par and doubles proved hard to find. Hendriks cashed in on The Power's slovenly early play by taking the opening set in comfortable fashion.

Taylor remained on stage during the interval, which was a clear sign that he was far from happy. Fortunately for Taylor, Hendriks' level dropped in the second set and he took it despite still being short of his best.

The third set went Taylor's way 3-0 but that did not tell the whole story as he missed a string of doubles but the lack of pressure from Hendriks enabled him to move ahead for the first time.

The frustration was clear to see and he let out a huge roar of delight when hitting double five, having missed three other attempts, to claim the opening leg of the fourth set - which he took 3-0.

Despite Taylor continuing to struggle, Hendriks had no answer. And despite missing 24 doubles in the match The Power closed out the fifth set to advance.

"I'm happy with 4-1 but not with my form," Taylor said. "He was nervous, I felt sorry for him, and I just lost concentration. It was hard, it really was."

Robert Thornton and Paul Nicholson served up the first final-leg decider of this year's tournament, with the former edging over the line to win 4-3 to set up a meeting with Taylor.

Thornton missed six match darts, four in the sixth set and two in in seventh - but he kept his nerve and took out double ten to progress.

Terry Jenkins set up a third-round clash with Andy Hamilton with a 4-1 win over John Part.

Jenkins hit a 98 average and was in sizzling form for three sets. Part rallied to take the fourth and had chances in the fifth, but Jenkins' 60% checkout average saw him over the line.

"The doubles usually let me down so I am happy with that," Jenkins said. "I am feeling confident this year. I have been practicing well."

Looking ahead to the last 16, Jenkins said: "Andy is a battler, you have to dig in against him. He is a steady player, similar to me."

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