Judd Trump holds off spirited Shaun Murphy fightback to make Crucible last eight
Trump began the final session of the second-round clash of former champions with a 10-6 lead.
Judd Trump held off a spirited fightback from Shaun Murphy to reach the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible.
Trump began the final session of the second-round clash of former champions with a 10-6 lead and moved to within one frame of victory with the aid of breaks of 63 and 86.
Murphy dug deep to win the next two frames with breaks of 88 and 72 to at least reach the mid-session interval and carried on where he left off when play resumed, breaks of 112 and 99 reducing his deficit to 12-10.
The Masters champion also got in with a superb long red in frame 23 but, after also potting the blue, missed a red to the corner and Trump stepped in with a break of 58 which effectively secured a hard-fought 13-10 win.
“Shaun was in a world of his own for them four or five frames,” Trump told the BBC.
“I was a little bit worried but I just had to back myself in that last frame to put a nice stroke on that first red and get in.
“By the time it’s got to 12-10, you’re probably starting to think the worst. The way he was potting the balls as well… Shaun when he gets the support around him absolutely loves it.”
Murphy refused to be too downhearted by the defeat, saying: “Frankly it’s the best I’ve ever played at the Championship and lost.
“I can’t really criticise myself too much. I came up against the world number one, the best player on the planet, playing really well.
“All I can do is praise him – he played fantastically well and we’ll have to go again.”
Trump will face either Luca Brecel or Ding Junhui in the last eight, with Brecel needing just one frame in the evening session to advance.
Si Jiahui sealed his place in his second Crucible quarter-final after holding off spirited qualifier Ben Woollaston to seal a 13-10 victory.
The Chinese player, who reached the last four on his debut two years ago, started the final session with a two-frame lead but was dragged back level at 10-10 before reeling off three in a row – including a break of 126 in the penultimate frame – to set up a likely last-eight clash with Ronnie O’Sullivan.
