Trump Wins Despite Duff Display
Judd Trump came through a three-hour battle against Adam Duffy, winning 4-3 to reach the last 16 of the Indian Open.
World number six Trump, who is suffering from a shoulder injury, was far from his best in Mumbai, but did enough to set up a match with Mark Williams. Trump won the first two frames with a top break of 61 before close friend Duffy took three of the next four. The decider lasted 34 minutes and Trump eventually won it 58-22.
“It wasn’t an enjoyable game and I can’t really take much from it,” admitted Australian Goldfields Open champion Trump. “The shoulder is better than it was in my first match, though it is still not perfect. On power shots I’m having to put my body into it more. It got better yesterday, otherwise I would have pulled out. I don’t expect much tomorrow, I will just battle like I did today and see what happens. I’m not going to play my best here. I just need to try to be patient because I know I’m going to miss balls that I don’t usually miss.”
Home favourite Aditya Mehta, runner-up last season, saw his hopes of another long run end as he lost 4-2 to Ricky Walden, whose top break was 63.
Mark Williams edged out Peter Ebdon 4-3, making a 106 in the fifth frame and a superb 127 in the decider.
Williams, who reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Open, said: “Peter potted some unbelievable balls to go 3-3 and then potted a great red in the last frame but he didn’t finish on the blue, otherwise he might have made a break. It was nice to get a chance and make a good century.
“The tables here are playing nicely but the conditions are sticky. I used to be a good traveller and I’ve won a lot of tournaments in Asia so I know how to adapt when it is sticky like this.”
Williams has been taking advantage of the lavish buffet laid on for the players and officials each day at the Grand Hyatt hotel. “I’ve had two curries a day since I’ve been here,” he said. “They are the best curries I’ve ever had, better than anything back home. If my wife asks me next week if want to go for a curry, I’ll definitely have to say no.”
Welsh Open champion John Higgins saw off Jamie Cope 4-2 with a top break of 54. “It was a really scrappy match,” said Higgins, who now meets Mark Davis. “Conditions are tough so you just have to try to scrap out a win and hope to play better in your next match. I’ve lost to Mark Davis for the last few times so I owe him one.”
Shoot-Out champion Michael White continued his bid for back-to-back titles with a 4-2 win over Matthew Selt, highlighted by a break of 100 in the last frame.
Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh built on yesterday’s victory over Ding Junhui by beating Luca Brecel 4-0 with a top break of 137, to match his best run in a ranking event.
Chris Wakelin reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time by beating Andrew Pagett 4-1 with top runs of 70, 80, 50 and 56.
Nigel Bond edged out Dechawat Poomjaeng 4-3, winning the sixth frame with a break of 109 and the decider 63-37.