Judd Trump reaches Wuhan Open quarter-finals with win against John Higgins, Shaun Murphy beats Ali Carter
Updated 09/10/2024 at 16:45 GMT+1
Defending champion Judd Trump moved a step closer to reclaiming his Wuhan Open crown with a 5-2 victory against John Higgins. Shaun Murphy is also through to the quarter-finals after coming through an epic match against Ali Carter with a 5-4 victory. Meanwhile, Englishman Jack Lisowski impressed in his match with Wu Yize as he also progressed to the last eight.
You don't see Higgins do this very often...
Video credit: TNT Sports
Judd Trump is into the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open after a 5-2 win against John Higgins.
Coming into the match, Trump called their rivalry one of the "best in snooker", with the pair known to produce intriguing battles.
Both players have enjoyed decent form in China, with Trump arriving in the last 16 off the back of a competitive 5-2 win against Anthony McGill, while Higgins got past Zak Surety 5-3 in the previous round.
Higgins was rewarded for his patience in the first frame, seizing an opportunity to take the lead after a missed black from Trump.
A re-rack was agreed at the start of what turned out to be a cagey second frame, which saw some exquisite safety play from both players.
After such meticulous, tactical play, with neither player giving an inch, the pivotal moment of the frame came from a fluke as Trump looked to send the green to the left corner pocket but caught it thick and put it into the right middle.
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'Goodness me...it's dropped!' - Trump hits one of the flukes of the season
Video credit: TNT Sports
There was a raised hand in apology, but it allowed the world No.1 to draw level after an hour and a half of intense snooker.
The third frame was more straightforward. Despite Higgins making a strong start, Trump was able to take advantage of a more open table to rack up 102 points and take the lead.
Defending champion Trump then gave himself a cushion with a break of 74 to go 3-1 ahead.
There was a slight delay to proceedings ahead of the fifth frame as Trump returned to the table with the wrong cue, having picked up another player’s during the break.
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Trump left baffled after cue mystery in Higgins clash
Video credit: TNT Sports
After going 56 points behind, Higgins recovered incredibly well with a long pot on the final red giving him the chance to clear up.
However, a poor positional shot to set up the yellow left the Scotsman up against it and after leaving the green over the pocket, Trump stepped up to pot the required green and brown to go 4-1 up.
Higgins bounced back well from that disappointment as he took just one visit to pull a frame back with a 126 total clearance.
But it proved not to be the start of a comeback as Trump blitzed through the next frame to seal his place in the last eight of the competition.
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Next up for Trump will be a tricky tie against Chris Wakelin who upset the home crowd by dispatching Chinese player Ding Junhui 5-3.
Wakelin produced three century breaks on his way to securing a memorable victory.
Murphy through after epic battle with Carter
Shaun Murphy booked his place in the quarter-finals after an epic 5-4 victory over Ali Carter.
After Carter took the first frame, Murphy won three on the bounce - which included a break of 101 in the third - to take control.
However, Carter fought back and, after producing a century break of his own, proceeded to level the tie at 3-3.
Murphy once again edged ahead, before Carter again pulled himself level to take the match to a decider - where Murphy cleaned up with a break of 68 to seal victory.
He will play Xiao Gudong next, after the Chinese player got the better of Barry Hawkins 5-2.
Meanwhile, Jack Lisowski put on a show with a 5-0 thumping of Wu Yize to progress to the next round.
He recorded breaks of 68, 81, 51 and 65 before finishing the match with a century break of 117 to secure victory in style.
Ben Woollaston had looked good to advance after going into a 3-1 lead against Long Zehuang, but the home player delighted the crowd by winning four straight frames to take victory.
Si Jiahui was a 5-2 winner against Duane Jones and his quarter-final opponent comes in the shape of Zhang Anda, who fought back from 3-0 down to edge a nail-biting contest with Mark Joyce 5-4.
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