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10 hours ago
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Judd Trump punished a series of costly errors from Mark Williams to build a 5-3 lead while Ronnie O’Sullivan and Zhao Xintong are level at 4-4, as the World Snooker Championship semi-finals got under way at the Crucible.
After an intriguing afternoon session between the seven-time champion and the young Chinese pretender, things started slowly in the evening. A tense opening to the match was filled with mistakes and a missed routine black by Williams in the eighth frame enabled Trump to establish a healthy overnight advantage.
The world No 1, seeking his second world title, produced comfortably his worst session of the tournament so far but he finished strongly, even if at times he rode his luck against his 50-year-old opponent.
The edgy tone for the evening was set in a eventful opener that was ultimately won by Williams’ break of 73, but he needed a fortuitous red when escaping a snooker to put an end to Trump’s fightback.
The caginess continued into a second frame lasting 39 minutes in which Williams paid the price for an aggressive approach that resulted in an important missed blue. Trump also took the third after succeeding with a three-ball plant and punishing errors by Williams, although the favourite’s play lacked conviction.
When the interval arrived Williams, three times a champion at the Crucible, had drawn level at 2-2 after producing a break of 116 and the rollercoaster play continued with mistakes made time and again as the score moved to 3-3.
There was no let-up in the tension with neither player able to seize control of the session and in the seventh frame Trump received a good slice of luck as, having been presented with the trickiest of snookers, he fluked a red into the bottom right pocket on the third attempt.
Trump took a hard-fought frame that both had ample chances to win and when Williams missed an easy black in the eighth, the Englishman pounced to compile a break of 109 that propelled him into a two-frame lead.
O’Sullivan and first-time semi-finalist Zhao shared the spoils in a gripping opening session that ended 4-4. O’Sullivan’s pedigree and experience on the big stage did not deter Zhao, who took a 2-0 lead and then finished impressively with a break of 86 – the highest of the match to date – to leave things all square after the initial leg of their best-of-33 frames contest.
With moments to go in the afternoon’s play, Zhao broke a corner runner with a powerful shot to leave balls rolling around the carpet as he applied the finishing touches.
Earlier O’Sullivan, who considered his 13-9 win over Si Jiahui in the quarter-finals a let-off, won three frames in succession and at one stage stopped his opponent registering a point for almost 34 minutes. Zhao showed no sign of nerves on his first appearance at the theatre’s one-table setup, settling quickly into his work as he picked up the first two frames with minimal fuss.
O’Sullivan potted the white off the initial break and was restricted to a couple of reds as the Chinese player put together a decisive 60 to take first blood. It was a similar story in the next, O’Sullivan opening the door with a missed black and Zhao cashing in with a 62 break.
The Rocket came to life at 2-0, getting into the zone with a breezy 64. By the time the mid-session interval had arrived he had wrested back the momentum, conjuring a fluid 73 to even the scores before jamming a black in the jaws with a century for the taking.
O’Sullivan’s roll continued after the restart as he got the better of a safety exchange, then sealed the fifth, leaving Zhao over half an hour and two frames without scoring a point. When he snapped his barren streak he did enough to draw level at 3-3.
Both players saved their best for last as they warmed to an engaging battle, O’Sullivan regaining the upper hand with a break of 82 before Zhao shot back with 86.
