Trump blasts past Ding to reach Masters semi-finals

Ding Junhui slumped in his chair in the corner of the rink, hands clasped together on his lap and eyes transfixed on the floor, like a man who'd just been given bad news.

- LAWRENCE OSTLERE

The score hardly suggested a crisis, at 3-3 in this Masters quarter-final with Judd Trump in a race to six. But the momentum had swung so violently over the past 15 minutes that it was as if Ding had been punched in the gut, the air sucked out of him, and he just wanted to melt under Alexandra Palace’s bright lights.

A puddle on the floor might have been more effective in interrupting Trump’s flow. The world No 1 won the next three frames without conceding a point, hitting breaks of 125, 62 and 75, racking up 368 points without reply. Trump finished the match with 95 per cent pot success, 91 per cent long pot success and 80 per cent safety success. Ding had only missed a few balls all afternoon, but that was enough for a comprehensive 6-3 defeat.

“I made a few mistakes and I take a lot of punishment,” Ding said. “He played very well today. You can’t make those mistakes against Judd Trump.”

Victory sent Trump through to his seventh semi-final of a season which is blooming into one of the greatest single years by any player. Trump is the favourite here to add another title to wins at the Shanghai Masters, Saudi Arabia Masters and UK Championship, and in reaching the semis he has already set a new record for the most prize money earned in a single season – nearly £1.3m – with four months still to go until the World Championship.

“I’m so privileged to be doing what I’m doing,” Trump said sheepishly when presented with that achievement by interviewer Rob Walker. “Coming out here is the best feeling in the world. I’m thrilled I can play the standard I did today. When you get into a run like that, I’d happily play for the rest of the day.”