Judd Trump left fans in awe as he stole a frame in wonderful fashion at the Scottish Open.
Trump whitewashed Sanderson Lam 4-0 to progress at Meadowbank Sports Centre as the tournament returned to Scotland's capital for the first time since 2003. The world no.3's victory was far from straightforward, however, as he was made to work hard by his opponent, who squandered a hatful of his own chances.
And Trump, who is seeking his first title of the season, was ruthlessly clinical as he taught the less experienced Lam a lesson in closing out frames. Lam's impressive opening break of 65 was not enough to win the first frame - as Trump came back to take an early lead.
After making it 2-0 with a run of 63, Trump's true brilliance then showed as a virtuoso steal left his opponent reeling. Lam initially had the heavy favourite in trouble in the third frame behind a snooker, but the former world champion escaped and got in with a fine long red before punishing Lam with a majestic 50 clearance.
Trump manoeuvred the cue ball expertly as he showed glimpses of his best form, despite later claiming he was struggling with his cue tip on the first day of the event. And he made a difficult break look astoundingly easy he negotiated a tough red down the rail. “This is absolutely burglary,” Eurosport pundit Neal Foulds said on commentary as Trump cleared up the colours to make his lead 3-0. "It’s an absolutely outstanding clearance,” he added.
It was a familiar tale in the final frame, as Lam broke down on a break of 56 and allowed Trump to eventually pounce and seal the whitewash. Trump admitted that Lam should have taken at least one frame in what became a strangely predictable encounter.
“He should have definitely won the first frame and probably nicked one or two of the others as well," Trump said. "When I needed to get in they were all going in but there was a few mistakes and I was looking forward to playing on the table and thought it was going to run well but it played a little bit heavy.
"That’s why I couldn’t really get in my rhythm. I felt as if I really had to hit the ball and that was making me take my eye off some of the easy pots."
An optimistic Trump added: “I am playing well and obviously it’s hard for people at home to dissect that and everyone seems to think I’m probably playing badly because I’m not winning every event and stuff like that, but there really are very fine margins between winning events and going out at the last 16."
