Judd Trump edges out Mark Davis to move into British Open last 16 despite 'horrible' conditions
Updated 26/09/2024 at 19:08 GMT+1
World No. 1 Judd Trump moved into the British Open last 16, coming out on top in a tricky encounter against Mark Davis to win 4-2 in Cheltenham. The match featured an odd moment where the cue ball moved of its own accord, leading Trump to describe the tables as "horrible to play" on. Despite the win, his wait for an historic 1000th career century continues.
'Heard a noise but didn't see anything!' - Trump shows off cue control with outrageous speed
Video credit: TNT Sports
Judd Trump got the better of Mark Davis in a tricky third-round encounter at the British Open, winning 4-2 to book a spot in the last 16.
Davis frustrated the 2019 champion in the early stages, coming out on top in some lengthy safety exchanges and breaking up Trump's rhythm.
But Trump showed his class in the later frames, with two half-century breaks proving crucial to level the match at 2-2 and begin a swing in momentum his way - although his wait for a 1000th career century continues.
An odd moment occurred when the cue ball twice appeared to move of its own accord before Trump could play a shot, leading him to criticise the conditions and the number of games played on each table at the tournament.
"It's tough, the conditions are not great, so you kind of just have to win in any way possible," he said afterwards. "It's never going to be pretty, it's just about getting over the line and trying to stay as mentally strong as possible."
Referring to the strange movement of the cue ball, he said: "It happened twice, the white came to a stop and decided to move on its own. I don't know what it is, there's a lot more play on the tables than there used to be, five or six games a day, and it's just too much. It's difficult because the spectators are expecting a good game and we want to give them a good game but the table's not really up for it.
"It's horrible to play, because you want to go out there and play your best, and when the conditions do that, it's disappointing not just for me but for everyone. It's disappointing not to be able to play my absolute best here, but I'm still in the tournament and hopefully at some point I can kind of scrape through."
- Selby edges Yuan after being taken to final frame at British Open
- Higgins claims another record with British Open win against Murphy
Davis made a strong start, making a break of 26, while Trump looked a little sluggish, losing position after just eight points and being forced into safety play. Davis made smooth progress through the pack to take the frame 60-8, missing a final black but with the frame secured and Trump staying put in his seat to concede.
The second frame began with a long safety exchange, with Davis committing two fouls and, at risk of losing the frame entirely, forced to leave the cue ball in space for Trump. Trump could only sink one red before safety play resumed, coming to an end after nine and a half minutes without a pot as Davis was once again forced to land the white among the reds.
A tough frame continued as neither player could manage a long break, with the high quality of the safety exchange leaving all the balls in awkward positions. Trump played a brilliant snooker, tucking just behind the yellow, and from there opened up the table.
At one point Trump spoke with the referee about an issue with the table, as the camera caught the cue ball appearing to jump forward slightly on the baize as he went to play. Despite that Trump came out on top of a scrappy frame to level at one apiece, taking the frame 74-18 with a break of 20.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2024/09/22/4043806-82013773-2560-1440.jpg)
‘It’s frightening’ - Wu pots stunning red and flukes black in English Open final
Video credit: TNT Sports
A table fitter came to adjust the baize before the start of the next frame, which began with another protracted safety exchange before Trump picked off a handful of loose reds. Davis continued to frustrate the former world champion, who struggled to get into any kind of rhythm and missed a series of routine shots throughout the match.
Davis moved into the lead but a strong snooker by Trump threatened to undo all his good work: he badly overplayed the following shot, fouling on the pink, and opening the door.
A scrappy exchange followed before Davis eventually potted the pink to take the frame 67-49, but the manner in which he nearly lost it appeared to unsettle him, and he never found a way back in.
Trump made a confident start to the fourth frame, nicely splaying the reds with his first pot and making a break of 50, with Davis failing to capitalise on another routine miss by Trump and letting the world No. 1 seal the frame and level the tie with a break of 54.
Davis continued to have chances in another frame of mixed quality but suffered from lapses of his own, leaving Trump on for the final remaining red - which was enough to take the frame 69-23 to lead 3-2.
A rattled-looking Davis made a weak start to the next safety exchange and after both players potted the cue ball in quick succession, it was Trump who moved up a gear, reaching a break of 73 and sparking more talk of that 1000th career century. It was not to be this time around, but it was enough to take the frame 85-11 and the match 4-2, leaving Davis to rue his missed chances.
Up next is a clash with Stephen Maguire later on Thursday.
higgins and wilson advance on moving day
John Higgins’ bid to return to snooker’s top 16 continued with a battling 4-2 win over fellow Scot Graeme Dott.
Higgins toppled out of the top 16 on Monday, after 29 years inside the elite group.
He has the chance to make an immediate return with a deep run in Cheltenham, and he battled past 2006 world champion Dott.
It was not pretty; the highest break of the contest was 68 by Dott, but Higgins won an arm wrestle to advance.
After 35 minutes of frame six, loud applause greeted a superb brown to the yellow pocket from Higgins to effectively secure victory.
Dott played on in search of snookers, but Higgins kept him at bay and a handshake was offered when the former left the blue in the jaws of the yellow pocket.
The win set Higgins on course for a meeting with Neil Robertson’s conqueror Rory Thor.
World champion Kyren Wilson breezed into the round of 16 with a 4-0 win over Marco Fu.
Fu never threatened at any stage, he totalled 20 points in four frames, as runs of 80, 50 and 95 booked Wilson a clash with Elliot Slessor.
allen makes maximum in mertens win
Mark Allen made the fourth 147 of his career in beating Ben Mertens 4-1.
A scrappy opening frame was followed in the second by Allen going through the gears to make his maximum.
Mertens got on the board in the third frame, but Allen won a scrappy fourth and wrapped up the win with a run of 77 in the fifth to set up a clash with Chris Wakelin.
Stream top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement