Judd Trump hopes to win 'magnificent seven' ranking titles - 'I've put myself in an amazing position'
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Published 24/03/2024 at 17:14 GMT
Judd Trump landed his fifth ranking title of the season on Sunday evening when he defeated Ding Junhui 10-4 in the World Open final in Yushan, China. The former world No. 1 is enjoying what he described as a "dream season", and after winning in China, he said that he had put himself in an "amazing position" to end the campaign with seven ranking titles.
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Judd Trump revelled in a "dream season" after winning the World Open in China on Sunday with a 10-4 victory over Ding Junhui.
Trump led 7-2 after the first session and secured three more frames for victory in Yushan to win his fifth ranking title of the season.
Speaking after the win, Trump was surprised that his win came by such a large margin.
He said: “I thought it was going to be a tough game against Ding. I’ve seen how well he’d been scoring. He beat everyone pretty comfortably, except Neil [Robertson] where he scraped through.
"I thought it was going to be really tough. I managed to dig in this afternoon, and get a good lead. Then this evening, I probably played the best snooker of the tournament that I’ve played and managed to get over the line quite comfortably.
“I felt a lot more relaxed, and I was just hitting the ball a lot better. Whenever you've got a lead like that, you just relax and play as if you’re in practice.
"I played very good tonight and it’s always difficult if you’ve got a big lead, especially if the crowd gets behind him and he starts winning frames.”
The former world No. 1 said that it would have been harder if Ding had put the pressure on in the second session, with the crowd able to make a difference if momentum goes in favour of the home player."
He added: “It can be a very lonely atmosphere if things start going his way, so I knew it was important to finish off the job as soon as possible.
“It was one of those games I thrive on. I remember against Ronnie [O’Sullivan] in a Masters final and I did the same thing. It’s something that really gets me going.
"I knew it was going to be tough, and I knew it was important to get a good lead, because you could feel the support behind him, but I think it was also very fair.
“Nobody wants to have their opponent having more support than you, but sometimes you have to use it to your advantage, to motivate yourself.”
Trump has enjoyed an exceptional season with five titles to his name, and was asked if he might pull off a haul of a “magnificent seven”, replying that he had given himself a chance with the Tour Championship and World Championship to come.
He answered: “It’s obviously going to be difficult, but I’ve put myself in an amazing position. I think I said this at the start of the season after I’d won three in a row.
“I was able to just relax and enjoy the season. If I didn’t win another game it would have been an amazing season. I’ve managed to keep ticking over, winning the German [Masters] and winning this one, with a couple of finals as well. It’s been a dream season for me.”
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