Judd Trump showed his class after losing the World Grand Prix final 10-7 against Ronnie O’Sullivan, admitting the 48-year-old deserved his comeback victory. The Ace will have been hurting after squandering 4-0 and 6-3 leads against O’Sullivan but showed his true colours with a sign of respect after their clash.
Despite Trump’s early dominance at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, he wasn’t happy with the way he started the clash against O’Sullivan, fresh off winning the Masters earlier this month.
“I didn’t really start well. Ronnie missed a few; we both struggled. The standard wasn’t very good,” Trump explained on ITV.
“But Ronnie cleaned up when he needed to in a couple of important frames, some important breaks. He made some really good clearances.
“His safety was a lot better tonight. He was getting in first and scoring a bit heavier. There were lots of ups and downs in that second session.
“The black was a bit of a kick to go 7-7 then I rattled the brown there. But he scored heavy and his long potting was really good tonight. He was getting in.
O’Sullivan has also lifted the Shanghai Masters and UK Championship during a phenomenal season, winning three major titles in the space of 50 days.
But Trump is enjoying a successful campaign of his own, being crowned English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open champion and reaching the final at the European Masters and Champion of Champions.
The 34-year-old would’ve been bitterly disappointed to miss out on Sunday evening after finding himself in such a commanding position.
But his assessment of O’Sullivan’s triumph and their relationship on the snooker spoke volumes of his class.
“Overall, a well-deserved win for him. It’s obviously never nice losing but it was nice to have another final against Ronnie.
“I always enjoy playing him. It’s always a good game. Hopefully, Ronnie carries on playing like that, and we can meet in a lot more finals this season.”
O’Sullivan returned the favour, heaping praise on Trump and even mooting his opponent as the favourite for the World Snooker Championship later this year.
The World Grand Prix champion explained: “You have to battle against Judd because he’s a warrior, you know. And for me, he’s the favourite for the World Championships this year. He’s strong.”
Trump is next in action against Lukas Kleckers at the German Masters on January 29.