England's Judd Trump continues fine form at the Northern Ireland Open
Judd Trump is on course to win his third ranking title in a row after making short work of Julien Leclerq in the second round of the Northern Ireland Open.
Having already won the English Open and Wuhan Open earlier this month, Trump will become only the fifth player in history to achieve the feat if he wins the title in Belfast.
Consecutive breaks of 108 in the first two frames set the tone for a convincing 4-0 win over the Belgian but the former world champion insisted his winning run was far from easy.
“When you’ve won a lot of matches you start looking over your shoulder because you know it can’t go on for ever,” Trump told WST’s official website.
“It’s important not to get negative, you have to keep trying to win rather than trying not to lose.
“I’ve had those kind of spells before. You can get a bit negative and go into your shell. This time, even if I lose I will go out playing the way I want to play.”
Veteran Joe Perry summoned a 145 total clearance – the highest break of his career – in the third frame of 4-3 win over Michael White.
Another veteran, 52-year-old Rory McLeod, who only earned a place in the tournament after Ronnie O’Sullivan’s withdrawal, also reached the third round with a tight 4-3 win over Ross Muir.
Other second-round winners on Tuesday included Ricky Walden, Stuart Bingham and Barry Hawkins.
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