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Si Jiahui made a maiden 147 break as he outclassed world number one Judd Trump 6-2 to set up an all-Chinese final in the Wuhan Open.
Having peeled off a 144 clearance to tie the match after Trump took the opener with a 109, Si pocketed all 15 reds and blacks before clearing the colours to thrill his home fans and establish a 3-1 lead.
The maximum puts him in line to pocket an extra £5,000 for the highest break but any thought the moment could distract him was banished as Si overturned a 59-point deficit to rifle in 81 in the next frame.
Trump pulled one back with 89 but a third century break – this time 108 – plus 71 carried Si into Saturday’s showpiece against Xiao Guodong, who rallied from 4-1 down to beat Long Zehuang 6-4.
After claiming his first win over Trump following six defeats and ahead of his bid for a first ranking title this weekend, Si said on www.wst.tv: “I didn’t feel much pressure, so I played very smoothly.
“I kept a calm mindset. I’ve lost a lot of matches whilst making 60-plus breaks against him before, so I didn’t think too much about beating him. I just focused on learning from him and playing my own game.
“Luck was on my side and I’m really happy to have made a 147. I’ve seen a lot of professional players make their first and second maximum breaks. I’ve been eager to score one and I finally did it.
“I’d give myself nine out of 10 for the performance, with one point off for my safeties. My safety play was still pretty poor and I feel like that’s the area I need to focus on improving the most.”
Trump believes the 22-year-old Si is being too hard on himself and likened the performance to what some of the biggest rivals of his career, including Ronnie O’Sullivan, produce when they are at their best.
“This is the best performance there has been against me, by quite far,” Trump said. “Apart from maybe John Higgins and the odd Ronnie performance, this is as well as you can play.
“From what I’ve seen he is an absolute mile clear of anyone his age or within five years of him.
“It is difficult to keep playing like that, but it shows he has got it in there. Now people have seen that, there will be a lot more pressure on him to win the World Championship and win events.”
Xiao, who beat reigning world champion Kyren Wilson earlier this week, looked set for a semi-final exit after losing four of the first five frames, with Long recording back-to-back breaks of 141 and 104.
Xiao went on the charge thereafter and won five frames in a row, including breaks of 130, 112 and 91, to reach the final, where, like Si, he will be looking to open his account in ranking titles.
