Welsh Open 2022 - Judd Trump battles to win over Neil Robertson to book semi-final spot
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Updated 04/03/2022 at 22:44 GMT
Judd Trump remains on course to win his first ranking tournament of the season after getting the better of the in-form Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open. Trump has spoken about striving to find his best form, but he looked good in beating Robertson in Newport on Friday afternoon.
'A real battle' - Watch moment Trump closes out victory over Robertson at Welsh Open
Judd Trump’s hopes of winning a first Welsh Open title remain on course following his 5-3 win over Neil Robertson.
Trump has had a poor season by his own high standards, and is still seeking a first ranking title of the campaign.
He could put that right in Newport this week after producing some of his best snooker in some time to beat Robertson.
It wasn’t free-flowing, high-scoring snooker, but he mixed excellent potting with hard match play - and withstood a fightback from Robertson - to secure the win and a place in the semi-finals.
A nervy, 25-minute opener saw both players miss balls they would normally pot with their eyes closed.
A simple, missed red from Robertson after Trump had gone in-off was the telling moment as the latter stepped in to secure the first frame.
Robertson - who has played the best snooker so far this season - knocked in a glorious long red to seemingly settle the nerves, but missed a simple pot moments later. However, a poor safety from Trump handed a second chance to the Australian and he levelled the contest in style with a superb 95.
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'What a bit of cueing!' - Robertson starts frame in style against Trump
Two potting machines delivered a high-order safety battle in the third, with Trump repeatedly escaping snookers as Robertson chased a way back into the frame.
Trump never wavered and after laying a snooker of his own, Robertson conceded after failing to make the escape.
World No. 3 Trump was much the better player before the interval, and pounced on a miss from Robertson to establish a two-frame lead at the mid-session break courtesy of a run of 60.
Trump told Eurosport on Thursday that he was striving to find his best form, and was lacking in confidence. Knocking in brilliant doubles and withstanding a fightback from Robertson, as he did in the fifth, will build belief.
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'I felt nervy' - Trump reacts to beating Robertson but not playing well at Welsh Open
Robertson looked jaded and down and out with Trump in the balls in the sixth, but the latter missed and the Australian kept his hopes alive with a steely clearance.
He took the seventh as well to put doubt in his opponent's mind - with Trump conceding after chipping the white off the table when looking for deep screw to get back to the black.
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'Urgh!' - Trump chips white off the table to lose seventh frame against Robertson
Robertson had a big chance to force a decider after a miss from Trump to right middle, but he saw a black stay above ground and Trump - clearly under pressure - held his nerve to stamp his ticket to the last four.
Later on Friday evening, Joe Perry set up a semi-final with Jack Lisowski on Saturday night with an impressive win over Ricky Walden.
Walden hit two century breaks of 125 and another 50, but only the 125s gave him frame wins with Perry's 118 and a 51 enough for him to secure a 5-2 win.
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Watch relieved Perry wrap up impressive victory over Walden at Welsh Open
In the last match of the day, Hossein Vafaei pulled off a remarkable comeback to beat Zhang Anda 5-4.
Zhang looked set for victory as he scored 108 in the first frame before losing the second. However, he then won three consecutive frames to go 4-1 up, leaving him just one frame from victory.
However, his opponent was undaunted, and two 50-plus breaks in the sixth frame, plus a 63 in the seventh, gave him the platform to make it three in a row with a scrappy 85-51 win to go level.
He then put down a fluent 96 to secure his passage through to a semi-final against Judd Trump on Saturday afternoon.
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