TNT Sports
German Masters snooker 2024: Judd Trump defeats John Higgins to reach semi-final stage, Si Jiahui beats Ryan Day
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Published 02/02/2024 at 16:54 GMT
Judd Trump remains on course for his fourth title of the season as the former No. 1 came up against the resurgent veteran, John Higgins, in the quarter-final of the German Masters in Berlin on Friday afternoon. Both players were in impressive form but Trump was the more consistent and ruthless, exploiting Higgins' rare errors to secure a 5-2 victory. Si Jiahui beat Ryan Day 5-1 in their match-up.
'What a thing to happen' - Higgins wows crowd with extraordinary shot against Trump
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Judd Trump beat John Higgins 5-2 in the German Masters quarter-finals on Friday, while the other afternoon tie saw Si Jiahui cruise past Ryan Day.
Former No. 1 Judd Trump has already won the English, Northern Ireland and Wuhan Opens this season, and has two final appearances in the World Grand Prix and European Masters, and is edging back to his best form.
Higgins, another former No. 1, has improved after a disappointing campaign last year, with four semi-final appearances so far this season.
Trump opened up the match by taking the first frame with a 71 break, but a half-century break of 83 took them back to level pegging.
A fluid break from Higgins broke down after he reached 53 in the third frame, and allowed Trump back in with a chance to snatch control of the lead.
He could only make 16 in response before attempting to play safety, but a fluke from Higgins saw him glance in a tight red and go on to wrap up the frame, and ahead of the mid-session interval.
After the restart, a deft 53 from Higgins as he left the ball against the cushion high up the table, giving Trump a difficult position to come back from. However some outstanding potting put Trump 68-53 clear, with Higgins needing snookers to stand a chance.
The Scot duly returned to the table with just the pink and black available, and he allowed Trump back in with the ball behind the black and the pink obscured, but he was able to escape the trap to go 3-2 up.
A poor miss on a red from Higgins in the following frame allowed Trump to the table to extend his 36-19 lead with another half century to move one away from victory. Higgins would have been frustrated that he followed up that earlier miss with a failure to pot an admittedly much tougher red, but it gave Trump an easy early way in.
He moved 48-0 clear as he attempted to break up the remaining bunched reds, and while Higgins briefly held on, an outstanding long pot from Trump saw him clinch the winning frame in ominous form.
In the afternoon's other quarter-final, Si Jiahui dropped just one frame in a 5-1 win against Wales' Ryan Day.
The Chinese player faces the winner of Kyren Wilson v Fan Zhengyi, while Trump plays the winner of Ali Carter v Sam Craigie, with both remaining quarter-finals played on Friday evening.
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