Murphy holds off Trump to reach British Open quarters

10 months ago 58
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Shaun Murphy lines up his cue to hit the white ballImage source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Shaun Murphy reached the semi-finals of the British Open in 2004

ByBobbie Jackson

BBC Sport journalist

Shaun Murphy fought off a spirited fightback from world number one Judd Trump to reach the quarter-finals of the British Open in Cheltenham.

England's Murphy, who won the Masters in January, looked comfortable with a 3-1 lead but gave up successive frames before wrapping up a 4-3 win against his compatriot.

Trump also suffered a premature exit at last week's English Open, losing in the last 16, and he is yet to reach a semi-final this season.

Murphy faces fellow Englishman Mitchell Mann in the last eight after he beat Barry Hawkins 4-2.

World number 91 Mann has only previously featured once in the quarter-finals of a ranking tournament - reaching that stage of the Northern Ireland Open in 2021.

Defending champion Mark Selby laid down a marker to his rivals with a comprehensive 4-0 win over China's Chang Bingyu.

Meanwhile, Mark Williams beat English Open champion Mark Allen 4-3 in the third round before returning for the evening session to win 4-1 against China's Lei Peifan.

England's Selby and Williams will square off in the quarter-finals in a repeat of the 2023 final, when the Welshman came out on top to claim his second title after also winning in 2021.

Stan Moody, 19, came through a back-and-forth battle with Ali Carter to win 4-3 and meets Louis Heathcote, who beat Wales' Liam Davies 4-2.

Moody, ranked world number 55, showed experience and composure beyond his years to reach his second ranking quarter-final.

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