Judd Trump has spoken out following his victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.
The 34-year-old emphatically put his rival to the sword, cruising to a 10-3 success to record his first victory over O’Sullivan in four years and set up a clash with Shaun Murphy in the final.
Speaking after his win, Trump explained that he enjoyed ‘getting one back’ over O’Sullivan as their public feud continues to capture the imagination of snooker fans around the world.
He said: “I think the standard of play was probably reminiscent of the Masters final. I felt comfortable and I knew that I’d lost quite a few times in a row to him.
“It’s obviously not a record you want to have where he fancies his chances every time he plays you. So it was nice to get one back and show I could still play a little bit.”
Trump raced into a seven-frame lead in the opening session, with O’Sullivan only winning the third frame and left with an 8-1 deficit to turn around in the evening. However, the four-time winner in Shanghai was not up to the task.
He landed the opening two frames when play resumed before Trump put a halt to his comeback charge by putting the game to bed in style, hitting his fourth century with a 101 to make it 9-3 before potting the red and blue to land the spoils.
Trump will now face Murphy in the final this weekend following his impressive victory over Mark Selby, coming from 8-5 down to secure a 10-8 success.
The final will be played on the backdrop of the news that Ray Reardon, 91, has passed away. Trump paid tribute to the snooker legend following his victory over O’Sullivan, saying: “You hear the way everyone speaks about him. I think he meant a lot to everyone in the game. I think especially the Welsh players owe a lot to him.
“I think you’ve seen how much respect he’s got from Ronnie. I think Mark Williams always uses a picture of them two together so you can tell what he means to all the players.
“He’s obviously a legend of the game and someone that goes down in the history book of Welsh sport and was a flagbearer for Welsh snooker. It’s a very sad day for Welsh snooker, and best wishes to his friends and family.”
