Northern Ireland Open snooker 2020 – Trump on kick: It can get you down for the rest of the match
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Updated 20/11/2020 at 15:57 GMT
Judd Trump addressed the brutal kick he suffered during his Northern Ireland Open quarter-final 5-1 win against Scott Donaldson in Milton Keynes. It was described on commentary as "horrible". Watch the Northern Ireland Open live on Eurosport and the Eurosport App all week, as Trump targets a third successive title.
Snooker Home Nations Northern Ireland Open 1/4 final : ITW Trump
Image credit: Eurosport
Judd Trump cruised into the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open on Friday, beating Scott Donaldson 5-1.
The world number one took a little while to find his rhythm and addressed a kick he suffered in frame two during a post-match chat with Andy Goldstein and Alan McManus.
“I made a slow start and I took a while to get used to the table as the cloth was re-done overnight,” began Trump.
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It took two or three frames to get used to it.
However, before the world number one got into his rhythm, he had the misfortune of suffering a kick so extreme – during the second frame – that Dave Hendon on commentary called it “less of a kick, more of an assault".
Trump insisted in the studio after the match that the reaction to the kick was more important than the kick itself.
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‘That's more like an assault!' – Trump suffers brutal kick at NI Open
“It is one of the biggest kicks I have ever had – the ball just went dead straight, it looked like I was playing a double or something,” chuckled Trump in a post-match chat in the Eurosport studio with Goldstein and McManus.
You can take that to heart sometimes and you can feel like you are the unluckiest player in the world – and it can get you down for the rest of the match. You just have to put it to the back of your mind and come out and play strong the next frame.
“These things happen. I have barely had a kick this whole tournament.”
On the cause of the kick, McManus, speaking in the Eurosport studio in his role as a pundit, said there were a number of factors that may have contributed to a kick of that magnitude.
“When you think about it, a brand new cloth and a brand new set of balls means that every point of contact is exaggerated, so that is probably why it was such an extreme kick.”
Trump awaits the winner of David Grace and Yan Bingtao in the semi-finals.
Report
Judd Trump has blitzed through to the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open after comfortably dispatching Scott Donaldson 5-1 in Milton Keynes.
The reigning Northern Ireland Open champion got off to a great start. He potted the red after some fine safety play which he also showcased in his victory over Martin Gould on Thursday evening.
The second frame lasted over half an hour and Trump blundered to allow the Scot back into contention. He left Donaldson a jab at a long red to the bottom right which he puts away before potting the pink.
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'Look at that!' - Magnificent shot from Donaldson to snooker Trump
Donaldson conceded the third when Trump potted the green for a break of 70. Before long Trump had a two-frame cushion when he rattled in a 112, after potting an ambitious long yellow, to take make it 3-1 at the mid-session interval.
Trump continued to dominate as Donaldson conceded the fifth when he required three snookers, despite the former missing the pink moments earlier. Trump finished the match off just shy of a century by making 86.
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