• Australian Open

Trump ends drought with victory in Australia

Judd Trump has four career ranking titles to his name © PA Photos

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Judd Trump secured his first ranking title since 2012 after beating Neil Robertson to the Australian Goldfields Open crown on Sunday.

Trump made breaks of 71, 101 and 114 in his 9-5 triumph against the home favourite in Bendigo. It is the second successive year that Robertson has lost in the final of this event, having succumbed to Marco Fu 12 months ago.

Trump told World Snooker's official website: "I played well throughout the week although today was quite cagey. Even at 8-3 ahead I knew he was capable of winning six frames in a row. He did that against me at the World Championship. He started to go for his shots and they were going in, so I was a bit nervy because if it had gone 8-6 then the pressure would have been on me.

"The difference today was that I was nicking the tight frames. I was happy to be 5-3 ahead at the end of the first session, then I won an important first frame in the evening session.

"Last season I didn't play well at the start but I did in the second half and it was frustrating not to win a title. It's great to get off to a good start this season and hopefully I can win more. I'm glad I entered the event, I enjoyed every game and the crowds were a lot better than the first time I came here."

It was the first time the pair had met on the green baize since the World Championship quarter-final at the Crucible, when world No.2 Robertson became the first player in history to make 100 century breaks in a single season before beating Trump 13-11.

Having successfully defended the opening ranking title at the China Open last week, Robertson went into Sunday's final claiming Trump had the advantage because the Brit "had five or six hours more rest."

Victory for world No.6 Trump marks the fourth ranking title of his career and a first since the 2012 International Championship in China, when he beat the same opponent to lift the trophy.

Robertson remains on 10 career ranking titles, one behind Ding Junhui.

"We can both play a lot better than we did today, we kept making 30 or 40 then running out of position. He capitalised a lot better than I did, otherwise instead of 8-3 it could have been 6-5 either way. Let's hope next year can be third time lucky for me," Robertson said.

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