Trump builds his times after down "Rocket" at Masters（在线收听） |
LONDON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Supported by the 1,200 faithful fans at Alexandra Palace on Thursday, the former World No. 1 and snooker's icon Ronnie O'Sullivan still found no way to repeat his four-time Masters triumph after a quick and bitter 6-2 quarterfinal defeat to the seemingly new king of the sport Judd Trump. The 22-year-old super star gave no chance to his English counterpart and only took 98 minutes to finish the lop-sided eight frames boosted by an early 4-0 lead.
The match duration was unusual for the nicknamed "battle between two-generation talents."
But it's true that there was a sense of the changing of the guard at the North London's Palace, the new home for the Masters after its more than 30-year stay at Wembly, as the 36-year-old former world champion seemed a little bit helpless and left the stage before a super-confident Trump with his brilliant potting and break-building skills.
The newly-crowned king of UK Championship last month now is close to his second major trophy of one's snooker career, the 150, 000 pound top-prized Masters, which he has never grabbed before and is recognized as one of the "big three" events of snooker, including world championship and the above two.
"I played pretty well, better than I played in the first round. My potting was good and that's what got me over the line," said the winner, who beat Stuart Bingham 6-3 in the last-16 clash.
"Ronnie has done everything he wanted to do in the game. He's enjoyed himself on and off the table, he has entertained the crowd for 20 years now and everyone still loves him.
"For however long he plays the game he will be the fans favorite," Trump showed his respect to the idol and also his humor.
"If Ronnie keeps playing, and avoids me, he will still be winning tournaments," he smiled. The duo now have faced each other seven times in tournaments with Trump winning five.
The left-hander dominated the early periods with a 4-0 lead and a wonderful 140 total clearance in the fourth frame.
After the interval, O'Sullivan fight his way back by winning the fifth in a run of 67 but still met unlikely task to comeback in the best of 11 frames.
Trump made it 5-1 later before seeing the three-time world champion narrow the gap with a flawless 141 total clearance in the seventh frame, the highest break so far from the eight-day Masters.
However, with the comfortable game point, Trump showed no mercy and sealed the 6-2 victory in a run of 65.
"When someone is playing as well as he is and is full of confidence, it's very difficult to stop," said the Rocket.
"I couldn't give any more out there. I gave it 100 percent and that's all you can do really," he added.
The semifinal will be staged on Saturday when Trump will meet Neil Robertson or Mark Williams.
"Ding and a few others have already won four or five tournaments so I need to keep practising and let my snooker do the talking on the table," Trump again showed his confidence and ambition.
Defending champion Ding Junhui, the only Chinese player in this tournament featuring an elite field of the world's top 16, failed to repeat his glory after defeat to O'Sullivan in the opening game on Jan 15. |
| 原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/guide/news/168511.html |