‘My concentration let me down’

Judd Trump claims his confidence is renewed heading into the second half of the season despite crashing out of the Masters at the semi-final stage on Saturday.

The Chigwell cueman, who practises at Romford’s Grove Academy, won arguably the greatest match in Masters history when beating Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals, but couldn’t follow that up as he went down 6-4 to Barry Hawkins at London’s Alexandra Palace.

It was another incredibly high-quality affair, with four centuries and five further 50-plus breaks, but Trump ultimately failed to reach his first Masters final, despite leading 4-3 at one stage.

And although the loss came just 24 hours after 26-year-old’s 6-5 thriller with Robertson, he is adamant fatigue was not an issue.

“I wasn’t fatigued or anything from yesterday – there was nothing in it today. I didn’t play terribly, but Barry played well and I missed the odd ball,” said Trump, who headed into the clash as favourite.

“If you’re playing against someone playing as well as Barry you’re going to get punished for that.

“It was nothing to do with me being the favourite, there was no pressure out there. I felt really good, but my concentration on a couple of balls let me down.

“A missed red at 4-3 was the difference between me winning 6-4 or 6-3 and losing. That one shot rattled in the middle pocket and that was it really.

“You’re not going to win every game but I’m happy to feel good again out there. It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward now.

“I feel like I can go out and play well every game. I just want to win as many tournaments as possible now, play my best and enjoy it.”

Trump will not have too much time to lick his wounds with a busy second-half of the season in the pipeline, culminating with the World Championship in Sheffield in April.

And the world number five acknowledges his safety play may have to improve if he wants to make his mark.

“I felt good to get back from 2-0 behind and I was in complete control really. It was a great clearance from him in the end to win it,” added Trump.

“My safety was a bit dodgy at times and I was disappointed with that last shot I played, but for him to pot that blue under pressure and finish perfectly on the pink was a great shot.”

*Eurosport is the Home of Snooker, showing all major ranking events including the Masters, World Championship and the exclusive “Ronnie O’Sullivan Show”.