Hong Kong snooker player Marco Fu. (Photo : Getty Images)
Former world no. 1 Judd Trump of England is set to face Hong Kong's top snooker player Marco Fu in the last 16 of the 2016 World Snooker China Open on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Trump defeated fellow Englishman Jimmy Robertson, currently ranked no. 37 in the world, 5-1, in the last 32 competitions while the 38-year-old Fu whitewashed world no. 24 Robert Milkins of England, 5-0, in the same round.
With the two players' dominating wins in the previous round and recent impressive performances, their match promises to be an exciting one that could probably go hill-to-hill in the tournament's best-of-nine frames format.
Trump got out of the first round with a bye against 25-year-old Stuart Carrington, who withdrew for undisclosed reasons. This gave Mr. Haircut 100 "some precious rest before the second round" versus Robertson that allowed him to have extra energy to finish the game in just 80 minutes, as per Xinhuanet.
Fu beat Chinese Yu De Lu in the first round, 5-2, before demolishing Milkins in their second round encounter. He carries a lot of momentum going against a tough opponent like Trump in the third round and the former world no. 6 said that he will not take him for granted.
"The match (with Trump) will definitely be the toughest one so far," Fu said. "I'll prepare for that."
The China Open was Trump's first ranking tournament win in his storied career back in 2011. From there, he rose from the ranks to become one of the best snooker players in the world today. He acknowledged that during one of his interviews after the match against Robertson.
"I've got very good memories here because it was the first tournament I won in 2011 and I always get good support here," said Trump, as reported by Eurosport. "I haven't done that well since the Masters in January, so it's important for me to do well this week."
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Tian Pengfei was the only Chinese player left in the tournament after he defeated world no. 30 Michael Holt of England, 5-2, in the second round. The Dalian, China native escaped the first round with a 5-4 win over world no. 8 Barry Hawkins.
Tian faces another Englishman, 33-year-old world no. 11 Ricky Walden, in the last 16 competitions.
