Neil Robertson ousts Ding Junhui to set semi-final clash with Judd Trump: 2011 UK Championship
Former world snooker champion from Australia, Neil Robertson, put up an excellent performance in the quarter-final of 2011 UK Championship against China’s Ding Junhui. The Aussie defeated
Junhui by the score line of 6-2 at the Barbican Centre arena, in York, to qualify for the semi-final stage of the championship, where he will face the 2011 China Open champion, Judd Trump.
The first scrappy frame seemed to go in Robertson’s favour in the beginning, when the Australian fired a half-century knock of 55 points, but the comeback kid, Junhui, sprang back into
the game brilliantly and clinched the first frame after hitting a nice clearance of 66. The Chinese grabbed an early lead of 0-1 in the game.
The Victorian potter replied to his first-frame defeat in outstanding fashion. He pocketed a clean break of 101 in the second rack to pull level at 1-1. The third scrappy frame was another
Junhui-dominated affair, where the Chinese Sensation nudged Robertson down with an early 43-7 frame lead until the end to move one frame up at 1-2.
However, the Chinese could not win another frame due to the Robertson’s astounding comeback. The Thunder from Down Under stole the show with five consecutive frame victories and ousted
his opponent by 6-2.
Speaking to the media after his victory, Robertson said, “When there is more riding on the match I tend to play a lot better. I just love winning tournaments and playing in semi-finals
and finals, and today I felt so confident and was convinced I was going to win. I am sure Judd would say the same after his match so we are in for a huge encounter tomorrow.”
The Aussie has reached the semi-final stage of World Snooker’s second most prestigious event after the World Snooker Championship, where he will meet the Bristolian cueman, Judd Trump,
who beat Scotland’s Stephen Maguire in his quarter-final encounter. The Robertson/Trump clash will definitely be a nail-biting thriller, as both players will be hoping to win the title.
Both, Robertson and Trump will be playing in their fifth one-to-one clash. In the previous four matches, Trump has been successful three times while Robertson could win only one match.
According to statistics, the odds are clearly in favour of Trump.
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