Trump beats Wakelin to reach Wuhan Open semi-final

Judd Trump pinched a tight deciding frame as he came from behind to beat fellow Englishman Chris Wakelin and reach the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open.

Wakelin, who beat Chinese home favourite Ding Junhui in the previous round, continued his impressive form to establish a 2-0 lead, helped by a break of 97 in the first frame.

Trump edged the third but Wakelin closed out the fourth to hold a 3-1 lead, before the defending champion made 54 and 58 in the next two frames to level.

Wakelin regained the lead in the following frame but Trump clinched victory by taking the next two for a thrilling 5-4 win, snatching the close-fought decider on the colours.

"It was frustrating at times and especially in that last frame, where it looked like he was going to fluke a couple of balls and end up winning," said Trump.

"In the end, I took my chance and played a really good shot on the brown to knock the pink out.

"You are just relying on your opponent to miss [in those situations]. He did that in the last frame. There was a bit of pressure out there and he took his eye off the brown looking for an angle to get the pink out."

Earlier, England's Shaun Murphy fell to a 5-1 defeat against China's Xiao Guodong.

Xiao, whose win avenged his quarter-final defeat by Murphy at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, raced to an early 3-0 lead with breaks of 139, 113 and 125.

Another run of 75 saw him extend his advantage before former world champion Murphy showed resolve to pull one frame back with a 112 break.

Xiao closed out the sixth to win 5-1 and said he capitalised on opportunities presented to him.

"I got into my rhythm faster than Shaun. In the first four frames, I made hardly any mistakes. That helped me build a solid lead and lay a good foundation for the rest of the match," said 35-year-old Xiao.

"To be honest, I wasn't favoured in this draw, going up against Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy. They are all tough opponents, so I'm just glad I was able to showcase my game."

Xiao will face compatriot Long Zehuang in the semi-finals, while Trump will play China's Si Jiahui.

Long cruised past England's Jack Lisowski 5-1 before Si beat compatriot Zhang Anda 5-3.