Saudi Arabia Masters 2024: Judd Trump completes stunning comeback to advance, Neil Robertson beats Mark Selby
By Ben Southby
Updated 03/09/2024 at 16:49 GMT+1
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Judd Trump rallied from four frames down to win 5-4 and claim "one of the best" wins of his career to advance at the Saudi Arabia Masters. The world No. 1 had to dig deep to eventually shake off the impressive Wu Yize and book his spot in the last 16. "I'm over the moon," a delighted Trump told Eurosport after the match. "It was just about trying to find some momentum and belief, I had none."
'That is ridiculous' - Trump opens with two spectacular reds
Video credit: TNT Sports
Judd Trump came from 4-0 behind to win five frames in a row and roar past Wu Yize to seal his place in the last 16 of the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters.
It looked as though his 28-match unbeaten streak in best-of-11 matches - dating back to December 2022 - was coming to an end before the interval, where he headed having lost four consecutive frames.
But he was a completely different player when he re-emerged on the main table at Green Halls, as he dominated 20-year-old Yize to pick off the five frames he required for the match.
"I was looking at flights home!" Trump joked on Eurosport after the match. "I was on Skyscanner, I swear!
"I'm over the moon, the table was playing very strange at the start, the ball was flinging off everywhere as if the balls had been polished or something, it was very, very strange.
"I can normally tell when I miss and there are a lot of times I've thought I've hit it okay, but they were just going nowhere near.
"It was just about trying to find some momentum and belief, because I had none."
He added: "I'm very, very happy with that, that was one of my best wins in the manner of digging in and [having] self-belief."
Trump potted two ludicrous reds in an electric introduction to the match, but that was as good as it got during the early stages as from that point was totally out-of-sorts.
He gave Yize an easy starter to the middle in the opening frame following a simple miss on the blue, which the Chinese player duly put away as he kickstarted a winning opening frame.
Yize pipped Trump in the second frame to double his lead and threatened to run away with the match before the interval, but the world No. 1 had the chance to work his way back into the match when he sunk an excellent red.
But in an action which summed up his form in the early exchanges, Trump botched a black off its spot as Yize stepped in to deliver a knock of 60 to move three frames ahead.
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The momentum stayed with the 20-year-old into the fourth frame, who put together a match-leading break of 67 to put one foot in the next round and give Trump a near-impossible mountain to climb.
However, after a short interval, Trump was given a lifeline when Yize scuppered an easy red to the bottom right to give The Ace a starter and a chance to get on the scoreboard.
He built a considerable lead to 56 but could not see the frame through in one attempt as he rattled the jaws with a red to the bottom right, leaving 75 points on the table.
Wu reduced Trump’s lead to 32 and had the chance to put himself in a position to book his place in the last 16, but he narrowly missed a red to the bottom right as Trump moved in to get on the board.
It was not totally clean, but Trump began to find his rhythm in the sixth frame and even managed to knock in his 993rd career century to keep the match alive.
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'Maybe to get himself going' - Trump clings on against Wu with century in frame 6
Video credit: TNT Sports
He then followed up with two more dominant frames - where Wu did not pot a single ball - as he knocked in 61 and 89 breaks respectively, which started to flow nicely for the Shanghai Masters champion.
Trump finished the job nicely, knocking in a break of 55 to cement an incredible turnaround.
Robertson rolls back the years to beat selby
Elsewhere, Neil Robertson rattled in a pair of centuries as he put in a superb display to defeat Mark Selby 5-3.
'The Thunder from Down-Under' has failed to reach a ranking event final over the last two years, but he warned that his game "has never been better" ahead of the clash.
And the Australian was good to his word, as he booked himself a spot in the last 16, where he will face Gary Wilson.
Things started in perfect fashion for Robertson, who opened up with a break of 115.
Selby responded in frame two, although he required multiple visits to eventually get over the finish line to make it 1-1.
Indeed, 'The Jester' did not register a single break of 50 or more before the mid-session interval, as his opponent opened up a 3-1 lead, including another century.
A response from the four-time world champion was always likely, and duly came upon the resumption.
Selby stroked home visits of 126 and 104 to move level, and with the momentum in his favour, would have fancied his chances of taking the match.
However, Robertson had other ideas, and breaks of 82 and 69 proved enough to book his spot in the next round, courtesy of a 5-3 success.
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‘My game has never been better’ - Robertson fires warning to rivals after reaching last 32
Video credit: TNT Sports
Seeded trio Allen, Carter and Hawkins crash out
Trump's victory meant he became the standalone world No. 1 after Mark Allen fell to a heavy 5-1 defeat to Xiao Guodong.
After falling two frames behind, Allen fired home a century break (104) to keep within touching distance of the no. 35 rank, but Guodong was too strong as he picked off the next three frames to advance.
Elsewhere, fellow top 16 players Ali Carter and Barry Hawkins were also beaten.
Carter also delivered a century break (103) as he came from 4-0 behind to reduce the deficit to 4-3, but his opponent - compatriot Elliot Slessor - took the match with a 74 break in the decisive frame.
Meanwhile, Hawkins was eliminated by Scotland's Scott Donaldson, who nailed two centuries (111 and 105) to secure a thumping 5-1 win.
Later, Ronnie O'Sullivan headlines the evening session against Lei Peifan as he seeks a spot in the last 16.
Stream the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters 2024 and other top snooker action live on discovery+
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