“Anywhere but there!” Shaun Murphy’s 147 bid sunk by snooker during Masters win
“Anywhere but there!” Shaun Murphy’s 147 bid sunk by snooker during Masters win
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Shaun Murphy fell just short of a 147 break as he defeated Neil Robertson to move into the Masters semi-finals at Alexandra Palace. In the eighth frame that saw him complete a 6-2 victory, Murphy, on course for a maximum, misjudged his shot as he potted the black to take his break to 120 and snookered himself behind the blue.
And the 42-year-old, who won the title in 2015 by beating Robertson in the final, said on BBC Two: “I couldn’t breathe!. “One of my targets for the season was to make a max in one of the Triple Crown events, and I was like ‘come on, this is a good chance, this is a good chance’. Anywhere but there, goodness me.
“It was exciting. The most important thing today was it would have been a great present – it’s my mum’s birthday today.”. Smiling as he put his head in his hands, he added: “What an idiot! Anywhere but there!. “I’d love to have another go at that one. I wouldn’t mind but I did that before once, years ago in the Welsh Open against Mark Williams. I did the same thing, exactly the same shot. You’d think I would have learned. I just couldn’t breathe. I was very nervous.”.
Anywhere but there, goodness me. Murphy also described his performance as “somewhere near my best”, adding: “I’m delighted, I’m really pleased.”. After the ‘Magician’ made breaks of 90, 67 and 66 en route to a 4-1 lead, two-time champion Robertson replied with a 108 when taking frame six before Murphy posted 82 and his almost-maximum as he wrapped up victory.
