2019 champion Judd Trump is just two frames away from the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship after establishing an 11-5 overnight lead over Tom Ford at the Crucible.
7-2 to the good after Thursday’s opening session, the number two seed took the first frame upon the resumption before Ford spurned a strong chance of making this year’s first Crucible maximum, breaking down on 73 after potting nine reds and eight blacks.
Trump made Ford pay for a number of unforced errors thereafter to ease further clear and at one stage looked capable of winning the match with a session to spare, before Ford stopped the rot by claiming the final frame of the afternoon thanks to a run of 83.
Trump will be hoping to finish the job quickly on Saturday morning so he can recharge his batteries ahead of the second week.
David Gilbert dispatched Robert Milkins 13-4 to become the first player through to the quarter-finals, and revealed a rigorous fitness regime is behind his push to reach the last four for the first time since 2019.
Leading 12-4 after Friday’s morning session, Gilbert required just 17 minutes to complete his victory over 16th seed Robert Milkins, who was hampered by a recurring back injury and showed the extent of his frustration by hurling his cue after missing a simple red in the 12th frame.
“The lesson I learned from when I got to the semi-final was you have to be as fit as possible,” said Gilbert.
“I’m using my time wisely, eating properly and the right things. I’m hitting the gym, pure weights and just trying to lift as heavy as I can. I’m going to smash the gym and keep eating the right stuff.”
“The lesson I learned from when I got to the semi-final was you have to be as fit as possible,” said Gilbert.
“I’m using my time wisely, eating properly and the right things. I’m hitting the gym, pure weights and just trying to lift as heavy as I can. I’m going to smash the gym and keep eating the right stuff.”
Jak Jones carved a 9-7 advantage over last year’s semi-finalist Si Jiahui after a poor quality second session of their second-round match.
Jones picked Si's pocket on a number of occasions throughout the day, winning four frames on the final black, but in taking four of the last five frames played in the evening session, the Chinese youngster hauled himself back into the match.
Meanwhile, Stephen Maguire closed out the opening session of his match with Shaun Murphy with a break of 72 to edge 5-3 ahead.
Best of 19 frames (April 20-25)
Best of 25 frames (April 25-29)
Best of 25 frames (All matches April 30-May 1)
Best of 33 frames (May 2-4)
Best of 35 frames (May 5-6)