Shaun Murphy has said that he is putting the work in as he strives to make the most out of the rest of this season with big prizes up for grabs.
The Magician beat Zhang Anda 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon to reach the quarter-finals of the Players Championship in Telford.
Murphy added a brace of 80-plus contributions to an earlier maximum 147 break attempt, which ended on the yellow, to safely get beyond the recent World Grand Prix finalist.
“I’m delighted,” Murphy, who is currently at number three on the one-year rankings, told the World Snooker Tour.
“I knew going into the match, particularly with the form he has shown this year just off the back of a final in the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, that I had to play really good snooker.”
“I’m just trying to toughen up a little bit. I’ve perhaps gone a bit loose in the last few weeks.
“I went into the game just trying to be a little bit more cautious, which for me is quite hard. I find it hard to hold myself back.
“But I did it today, and for a large part of the match it worked.”
A 147 break had looked to be a possibility when he managed to pair all 15 reds with blacks in the second frame, but he was struggling for perfect position and found himself snookered on the yellow.
“The penultimate black was one of the worst shots of the day – to finish straight on the red along the cushion,” Murphy explained.
“Drop the red in and then you have to throw yourself at the black, which went in, and then once it’s gone in, you think just show me the yellow.”
“Show me the yellow, but it wasn’t to be. I was a little bit unlucky there, but I played nicely. I will say that I think I had the run of the ball.
“Whatever that is, and whatever that means in snooker, I definitely had it today. Zhang was very unlucky with a lot of shots he played.
“I was quite fortunate with a few little safety shots and stuff. On another day, he is stood here giving you the interview. But I live to fight another day.”
Murphy, who will face either Zhao Xintong or Elliot Slessor in the last eight, has been one of the most consistent performers on the baize over the course of the last couple of seasons.
The 43 year-old already has silverware from this season in the bank having picked up the British Open title, and afterwards he missed out on further glory with defeats in the finals of both the Xi’an Grand Prix and the German Masters.
A lot of the improvement is attributed to his work with coach Peter Ebdon, who like Murphy is a former world champion.
The duo got together shortly before Murphy’s victory at last year’s Masters at the Alexandra Palace, and he’s hoping it can bring even more rewards in the latter stages of his successful career.
“It’s been a journey, certainly since Peter joined the team 18 months ago. It was one of the first things he said that I need to up my workrate.”
“You need to work hard enough so you deserve it. That’s a different way of looking at things.
“I’ve always been a hard practicer, but perhaps I just started to enjoy my life a little bit too much. I’ve just sort of gone back to basics in the last 18 months.
“I’ve been working very hard on my game, I’ve got my YouTube channel and all my social media, but there is a lot that goes on that people don’t see.
“There’s a lot of hours spent in that snooker room practicing, grafting, and it’s nice to see it coming out.
“It’s one of those, isn’t it? The old saying that practice makes perfect is actually not true. Practice makes permanent.
“So if you’re practicing the wrong things, you’re on a hiding to nothing. It’s about quality practice, but also doing more of it than anyone else.
“I’m determined to make sure now for the rest of my career – while I might not win every week or win every tournament – I’m committed to making sure that nobody will outwork me.
“I will get the best out of what’s left of my career. That involves living in my snooker room and practicing as hard as I can.
“Just remember that people who tell you that they are not practicing might be telling you a porky.”
Also into the quarter-finals in Telford so far are Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Mark Allen, John Higgins, and Chris Wakelin.
The last-eight lineup will be completed following Wednesday evening’s session where reigning world champion Zhao entertains Slessor and Mark Williams plays Barry Hawkins.
Featured photo credit: WST
