Stephen Hendry fought back from 3-1 down to beat Jimmy White 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Benson and Hedges Masters.

The 32-year-old Scot expected a rough ride from a partisan audience which had come to cheer on "people's champion" White.

He was not disappointed either. Increased security was the order of the afternoon, and tournament director Jim Elkins later confirmed at least two spectators had been ejected.

But the Wembley roar eventually died in the throats of the White fan club as Hendry moved into a last-four meeting against Leeds' Paul Hunter.

"The crowd were fantastic," he said sarcastically, rounding off victory with a 44 clearance and a clenched-fist victory salute to a crowd of 1,649.

"It always gives me great pleasure to win here," added the world number three, who ruled supreme at Wembley during the 90s when he reeled off five successive Masters victories.

He added: "I didn't play to a very high standard but I won the frames that mattered.

"It was a great clearance, though, at the end. Had it gone 5-5 it would have been anyone's match in the last frame."

The six-times Masters champion had reeled off four frames in a row after the mid-session interval to take the lead before White gave himself hope by making it 5-4.

Hendry had looked ill at ease as White, urged on by a vocal capacity crowd at Wembley Conference Centre, built his early lead.

But the former world number one dug deep and kept his cool, while White's potting began to falter, forcing him to rely more upon his safety play.

Vital red

The "Whirlwind" had won a scrappy opening frame 56-34, only to see Hendry level the match with a break of 99 in the second.

But White then pulled two frames ahead, winning the third 62-0, and the fourth 71-38 to go into the interval firmly in the driving seat.

But he missed a vital red in the fifth, letting Hendry in for a clearance of 45 as he took the frame 62-37.

The six-times world champion followed that with a break of 54 to pull level, then chalked up a 113 to take the lead.

No mistake

By now, White's confidence had been drained, and he lost the next frame 68-51 to put Hendry on the verge of victory.

But the popular 1984 Masters winner made the most of his chances in an error-strewn ninth frame to take it 68-9 to trail 5-4.

Hendry, however, made no mistake in the tenth, taking it 66-52 to reach Saturday's semi-finals.