Judd Trump insisted that he does not feel extra pressure at snooker's biggest tournament after strolling past Tom Ford 13-7 to reach his tenth quarter-final at the Cazoo World Championship.
Trump has 28 ranking titles to his name - only Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins have won more - but has conquered the Crucible only once, in 2019. Over the next ten days, the 34-year-old has the chance to become only the seventh player to lift the famous trophy more than once in Sheffield. His next opponent will be Jak Jones or Si Jiahui on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"I don't put too much pressure on myself here, I try to relax and enjoy it," said Trump. "I have the same attitude and will to win that I do at any other tournament. For some other players, winning here means the absolute world, nothing else matters and they forget to enjoy it, but it's not the same for me."
As for the match against Ford, Trump added: "I was average. We both struggled. I had to stay patient when my positional play wasn't good. It's hard to play your best when you are not being pushed. But I enjoyed being out there."
Trump, winner of five ranking titles already this season, led 11-5 after the first two sessions, making breaks of 67, 52, 69, 107, 67, 59 and 50. The early exchanges might have been closer if Ford had not missed a red on the verge of a 3-2 lead, which proved a turning point as he fell 6-2 behind.
The Leicester cueman took the opening frame today with a break of 76, then Trump replied with a 107, his second century of the tournament and 78th of the season. Ford pulled one more back before Bristol's Trump sealed the result with an 84 in frame 20.
Asked about his next opponent, Trump said: "Si is always improving and has been tipped as a future World Champion. He's similar to me when I was younger because he needs more experience in his shot selection. I have played Jak a few times and he has played some unbelievable stuff against me, plus he seems to love this venue."
Ford said: "You can get away with one bad session here, but not two. I tried everything, but it didn't work. I don't think Judd played that well, I just gave him so many chances."