Shaun Murphy scored a third consecutive 5-1 victory at the Shenzhen Open, beating Elliot Slessor to set up a quarter-final meeting with Wu Yize – a repeat of their epic Crucible clash five months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having beaten Marco Fu and Hossein Vafaei 5-1 earlier in the week, Murphy continued the pattern as he comfortably saw off Slessor with a top break of 139. China’s Wu, meanwhile, battled past Ricky Walden 5-3 with a top run of 91 to earn his first ranking quarter-final of the season, giving his home fans a huge fixture to look forward to on Friday at 7.30pm local time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back in May, 22-year-old Wu edged out Murphy 18-17 in one of the best World Championship finals of all time. The pair met again in the quarter-finals of the invitational Shanghai Masters at the start of this season, Yize coming out on top again 6-5.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked after today’s match to look back on their Crucible clash, Murphy said: “Obviously my over-riding memory of the final is disappointment. I have said many times that I will never get over it. I have to live with it and move on. Whatever happens tomorrow, hopefully the best man comes out on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“All matches and tournaments are important, but the World Championship and particularly the final stands above all the others. I’m very grateful to have won it back in 2005, my name is on the trophy. I have lost in four other finals so I could be stood here as a three, four or five time champion – but I’m not. So every time I play one of the players who beat me in a final, of course I’ll remember.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yize, reflecting on his tie with Walden, said: “I tried a few things that I haven’t really dared to try much in matches before, such as adding certain side spin to my safety play. I’ve been working on my safety game recently, and in this match I managed to play one or two safety shots that I was really pleased with. I don’t think I was quite strong enough in terms of scoring today, so I want to do better tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’ve always really enjoyed playing against Murphy. He’s one of the best players in the game at the moment, so I’ll just try to enjoy it and hopefully give the spectators something to enjoy as well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judd Trump enjoyed a 5-2 success against Si Jiahui and he’ll meet Mark Selby in another blockbuster quarter-final. Breaks of 80, 71, 53 and 54 helped world number two Trump to reach the last eight of a ranking event for the 113th time in his career – the same tally as Selby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I have been to a few quarters and semis this season and been knocked out so it’s important to try to kick on this time,” said Trump. “At this stage there’s always a crucial ball or crucial frame. So far this season and maybe last season I have not been winning those. But that can change at any point, you have just got to keep putting yourself in those positions. When I was winning a lot of titles it was going my way, then there have been periods when I have done the same things but just rattled a ball instead of potting it. You have to keep putting the work in and wait for your turn.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Selby beat Stephen Maguire 5-3 with a top break of 99. “It was a horrible match, I felt I brought Stephen down a bit. It was just a scrap really,” admitted the China Open champion, looking for a second title in the Far East within seven weeks. “I am always out there fighting, I would love to play one-visit snooker but it doesn’t always happen like that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Holt reached his first ranking quarter-final since the 2024 UK Championship as he kept nerves at bay to beat Kyren Wilson 5-2. World number 46 Holt admits that anxiety during matches has held him back during his career, but this time the 48-year-old remained composed to knock out 2024 Crucible King Wilson. Nottingham’s Holt is already guaranteed a payday of \u00a322,350 and if he can beat Yuan Sijun on Friday he’ll be into his first ranking semi-final since he won the Shoot Out in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When you play someone at the top they are probably calmer than you at the start, if they miss you have to take your chances, you’ve got to show you are ready for it,” said Holt, who compiled breaks of 126 and 54 in taking a 3-0 lead, then later added two runs of 84 in the last two frames. “If you can get on top of them you have to keep potting. I did that today, I was pretty good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Towards the end he came back at me but I stood up to it. If he senses weakness then he can roll over you. I have said it for years but I can play the game properly, it’s just about doing it more consistently. I felt calm and my attitude was good. I just tell myself to be calm in the moment because ultimately that’s what the best players are better at. When they get the chance they can stay in that moment and pot the balls. There are loads of players who can pot the balls, but staying calm in that situation is the key.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson remains in danger of failing to qualify automatically for the Crucible in the Spring as he is currently 23rd in that race, so may need to win a title over the coming months to climb into the top 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jimmy Robertson enjoyed a 5-0 success against Scott Donaldson to reach the ninth ranking quarter-final of his career. Donaldson had knocked out world number one Zhao Xintong as well as Pang Junxu, but he was no match for Robertson who fired runs of 68, 100, 63 and 75.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“From 2-0 I felt in control, it’s very pleasing to win 5-0,” said world number 45 Robertson. “I rate Scott very highly. We are in similar boats, we are more than capable of beating anyone and having deep runs, but then we can go missing for a while, it’s hard to get the results. At the qualifiers everyone is so strong, if you get on a losing run it’s difficult. But then you get a few wins and you are a danger for anyone. It’s nice to still be in and feeling good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I have still got a lot to prove and a lot to learn. If you don’t think you can win tournaments you shouldn’t really be playing. I have had 20 years on the tour now and I used to always look at draws, but I have realised you can’t do that because everyone is tough. If you get to a quarter-final then the chances are you will be up against a top player. I am trying to learn just to play my game rather than worrying about my opponent.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He will now face Chris Wakelin, who enjoyed a 5-2 victory over Neil Robertson with runs of 86, 80, 72, 77 and 75. Wakelin, ranked 12th, is into his first quarter-final of the season and remains full of self-belief as he chases what would be the biggest title of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m really proud of that performance, especially playing Neil in front of a big crowd on table one,” said the current Scottish Open champion. “I felt I dominated from early on and made the most of my chances. I’ve had a new cue for the past two weeks which was a big change for me because I had used the previous one for 11 years and I really trusted it. But I feel very comfortable with the new one. It’s a big opportunity over the next few days but the only thing I am focussed on is being ready for my next opponent.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ROUND FOUR RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark Shelby (Eng) bt Stephen Maguire (Sco) 5-3<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jimmy Robertson (Eng) bt Scott Donaldson (Sco) 5-0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris Wakelin (Eng) bt Neil Robertson (Aus) 5-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael Holt (Eng) bt Kyren Wilson (Eng) 5-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shaun Murphy (Eng) bt Elliot Slessor (Eng) 5-1<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yuan Sijun (Chn) bt Zak Surety (Eng) 5-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judd Trump (Eng) bt Si Jiahui (Chn) 5-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wu Yize (Chn) bt Ricky Walden (Eng) 5-3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shaun Murphy scored a third consecutive 5-1 victory at the Shenzhen Open, beating Elliot Slessor to set up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[378],"class_list":["post-16196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-snooker"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t