Judd Trump starts Masters title bid in style
Trump lost just one frame as he raced past Barry Hawkins to reach the last eight.
World number one Judd Trump breezed through his opening match at the Masters with a 6-1 win over Barry Hawkins.
Seeking his third title at Alexandra Palace, Trump was in ruthless form as he punished any lapse from Hawkins on his way to a 5-0 lead.
Hawkins pulled a frame back with a break of 70, but Trump responded with 112 to take the win over the man he also beat in the UK Championship final last month.
Trump will face Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Hawkins might have known it was not going to be his day when he accidentally potted a red while trying to break the pack in the opening frame, a moment Trump said was key to the entire match. Hawkins would commit a similar foul in the fourth frame.
“The first frame kind of turned the whole game,” Trump told BBC Sport. “He was a bit unlucky, I didn’t see if it was a plant, but a couple of times he knocked a ball in.
“You have to be so careful because, I’m not exaggerating, that just turns the match. If he gets in and makes a break, then he settles down and I miss an easy ball in the next frame, it’s 2-0 or 3-0 the other way.
“The first frame is so important. Whenever I win that first frame I seem to be able to gain momentum. Little things like that can change the game.”
Mark Allen joined Trump in the quarter-finals, setting up a match with Mark Selby, as he saw off debutant Si Jiahui 6-2.
Si had his moments in the match, turning the opening frame into a 40-minute scrap and using a break of 103 to level it in the second, but ultimately Allen had too much for the 22-year-old.
Breaks of 111 and 70 saw Allen go into the interval with a 3-1 lead, and although Si pulled the next one back the Northern Irishman responded with a break of 94.
And when Si missed a straightforward red at the start of the eighth frame, Allen grabbed the chance with a break of 80 finishing the contest.
