World number one Judd Trump is through to the 63rd ranking event semi-final of his career, after a 6-3 defeat of Australia’s Neil Robertson at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
Trump’s relentless consistency levels in recent years can be emphasised that it’s his 33rd trip to the last four of a ranking tournament since 2019.
The Ace in the Pack dislodged Mark Allen at the summit of the world rankings last month, with a run to the Xi’an Grand Prix final, where he lost to World Champion Kyren Wilson. However, Trump is battling to hold on to top spot this week, with seven-time Crucible king Ronnie O’Sullivan still in pursuit.
Defeat ends a good run for Robertson, who is aiming to return to the sport’s elite after a disappointing 23/24 campaign saw him slump to 27th in the world. The £50,000 won this week has seen him gain one position in the provisional rankings and move to 26th as he continues his bid to return to the top 16 in the rankings.
A fragmented opening two frames this afternoon both went the way of Trump, before the 28-time ranking event winner fired in a break of exactly 100 to move 3-0 ahead.
Trump had led 44-0 in the fourth, but fell out of position and allowed Robertson to get back into the frame, which he took to trail 3-1 at the mid-session.
When play resumed, runs of 77 and 103 helped Robertson take two of the next three and put himself right in contention at 4-3. He had the first opportunity to restore parity in the eighth, but broke down on 44. Trump responded with 77 to move one from victory and then got over the line to book a semi-final meeting with Shaun Murphy.
Trump said: “Neil was looking a lot more confident than he has done recently, it was just the odd little mistake when it really mattered. I know against someone like him if he got level he would have started peacock-ing round the table. It is never nice when your opponent has the momentum, but I just managed to stay in front.
“Shaun is someone who can be patchy and in and out, just because his style of play. He tried to really put a lot of effort into his safety a few years back and it didn’t work for him. I think he got bogged down. Now he has just accepted he is what he is. When he’s on fire he is almost unstoppable, going for every shot he can see on the table.
“He’s someone that you have to get off to a good start against, like Neil. When they build up a head of steam and their long potting is going in then you are in big trouble. If I can get in front he sometimes drops his head a bit. That is what I have to try and do again”
Murphy came through with a 6-2 win over China’s Xiao Guodong, to set up a repeat of this season’s Shanghai Masters final against Trump.
On that occasion it was Trump who prevailed by an 11-5 scoreline. However, 2005 World Champion Murphy vows that he has learned from that encounter.
Murphy said: “I think anytime you walk into someone like Judd Trump you are going to have a handful. I remember playing him on his Crucible debut and he went on to become the complete pro.
“In last month’s Shanghai Masters final, I learned so much about the game watching him up close. I’ve put that into practice since and my game has improved because of it. I’m not saying I’m going to win, but I am looking forward to the challenge of going up against him.”