Judd Trump is set to play China’s Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals of the Snooker World Championship after defeating Hong Kong’s Marco Fu, the other remaining hope of a first Asian world champion at this year’s tournament, on Monday.
Trump sealed his place in the last eight in style, rattling in a break of 133 to complete a 13-8 victory over Fu at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
He now faces Ding in a repeat of the duo’s 2011 semi-final, which saw the Englishman come through 17-15 before losing to Scotland’s John Higgins in the final.
Photo: AP
Trump has been in fine form this season, winning both the Australian Goldfields Open and World Grand Prix.
By contrast, until arriving at the Crucible, Ding had looked out of touch this term having won a record-equaling five ranking titles last season to extend his career haul to 11.
However, he saw off Higgins 13-9 last weekend, prompting the four-time world champion to label Ding “a big, big danger to win this tournament.”
Trump though was upbeat about his own form and questioned whether Ding had yet been given much of a test at this year’s World Championship.
“My game is there, if I continue to play like that I’ll be tough to beat,” Trump, 25, said after defeating Fu. “Ding has played OK, although maybe his opponents have made him look good. We will both be confident. We had a great game in 2011, both scoring heavily.”
“We’re both older now and more mature, but it will be tough to play to that standard again, back then we were young and fearless. Maybe this time it will be a bit tighter, a bit edgier. Whoever wants it the most will win,” he added.
Fu, down 10-6 overnight, kept the best-of-25-frame contest going with a break of 94 in Monday’s opener, but Trump, runner-up in the 2011 world final to John Higgins, took the next two to move within a frame of victory, ending the match in a grand manner.
Meanwhile, world No. 8 Shaun Murphy, the 2005 Crucible champion, defeated Joe Perry 13-5 to come out on top in an all-English contest.
Murphy is set to play Scottish surprise package Anthony McGill, who caused the upset of the tournament so far in knocking out defending champion Mark Selby in the quarter-finals.
Perry, faced with a mountain to climb at 12-4 down overnight, won Monday’s first frame only for Murphy to seal victory by winning an error-strewn 18th frame.
“It is just nice to get through and still be punching. You’ve got to treat the game with respect and hope you get the opportunity to get over the line,” Murphy said.
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