Judd Trump is trying to be at the apex of snooker for the ‘next 10 or 15 years’ as he looks to imitate the longevity of Ronnie O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan extended his excellent winning run to 13 matches on Wednesday as he showed David Gilbert the way out of the Shanghai Masters in the second round, setting up a quarter-final showdown with Mark Allen on Thursday.
Having won the World Championship and International Championship in recent months, and coming back to the World rankings, many are expecting Trump to enjoy a period of dominance in the sport.
Having dethroned O’Sullivan as World number one, and playing in a similarly fast-paced, crowd-friendly style, comparisons with the Rocket are unavoidable.
Trump is always interested in being seen as his lone man, but, having been at the apex of snooker since the early 1990s, the World Champion certainly wants to replicate the Rocket’s long stay.
‘He’s one of the players that’s been around 25 years, so to be playing at your best for that long takes a tremendous amount of effort,’ Trump told World Snooker
‘He’s at the point where he knows what he needs to do, what he needs to enter, his practice, he’s worked that all out and that’s why you only see him at the tournaments he wants to be rather than some of the other players who just turn up for the sake of it. ‘
‘You’ve got to admire what he’s done, and hopefully, I can go out and keep my career going for the next 10 or 15 years’.
‘These periods of form don’t come around all of the time,’ Trump continued. ‘There will be only a handful of times in your career that you win over
ten matched in a row. ‘
‘You just have to enjoy it and practice even harder. At some point, you will get beat, but you have to keep the confidence going for as long as possible’.
The quarter-final fixture saw Trump take on Allen on Thursday morning, UK time. For a place in the semi-finals in Shanghai, O’Sullivan took on Kyren Wilson later that day.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is backed at 1.95 to retain his title, while his close rival Neil Robertson is available at 4.20 to win the Shanghai Masters.
Written by: Imisa Aruorihwo