RIYADH: On Super Saturday at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters, Judd Trump clinched the title after a sensational 10-9 win against Mark Williams in a black-ball-deciding final.

After an 18-frame battle at the Green Halls in Riyadh, Williams built up a 62-point lead before a long-range miss gave Trump a chance. With a superb 72 clearance, Trump clinched the match, potting a last black to take the title.

In the immediate aftermath of his win, the world No. 1 said: “To pull off that clearance at the end under that pressure like that; it means this certainly ranks up there with the best wins of my career — it’s in the top two or three. It’s such a great feeling and there was so much elation and disbelief when that black went in. I’m in shock at the moment — but it’s been a life-changing week and I’m delighted to get the win.

“It’s a match I always look forward to when I’m playing Mark,” Trump added. “It’s a privilege to be playing in this era of snooker, against players like him. I’ve never seen anybody pot long shots from that distance like he did tonight — he was the much better player for the majority of the match, but I managed to get over the line at the end with that clearance. I was in my seat hoping for a chance in the last frame and fortunately it came.”

It was advantage Trump after Saturday’s afternoon session with “The Ace in the Pack” leading 3-1 at the interval, extending his advantage to 4-1 before Williams bounced back with successive centuries.

A 121 in the sixth and 132 in the seventh moved the Welshman within one frame at 4-3 before Trump took the eighth to lead 5-3 heading into the evening’s play.

When the match resumed, Williams showed precisely why he’s known as “The Welsh Potting Machine.” The three-time world champion emerged from the break in blistering form, hitting another century en route to winning four of the next five to turn the match on its head and lead 7-6.

Trump responded in frame 14, hitting a cool 76 to make it 7-7. The 2019 world champion then regained the lead at 8-7 before Williams responded once more, effectively making it a best-of-three sprint to the finish line.

Williams again restored the lead. An incredible 138 — his fourth century of the match — moved the 49-year-old within one frame of victory before Trump equalized at 9-9 with a 90 break — setting up the deciding final frame where the 35-year-old came out on top.

With his victory, Trump lifted the fifth major title of his career and 29th ranking event win, moving him beyond the legendary Steve Davis into fourth outright on the all-time list, behind only Ronnie O’Sullivan (41), Stephen Hendry (36), and John Higgins (31).

NEW YORK: Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open and her third Grand Slam crown with a thrilling victory over a gallant Jessica Pegula in a rollercoaster final on Saturday.
World number two Sabalenka triumphed 7-5, 7-5 to add the New York title to her back-to-back Australian Open victories.
Pegula went down fighting, however, recovering from 0-3 and break point down to lead 5-3 in the second set before Sabalenka came through.
The 26-year-old from Belarus clubbed 40 winners to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to capture both hardcourt majors in the same season.
“I’m speechless. So many times I was close to the US Open title and finally I got it,” said Sabalenka, the runner-up last year and semifinalist in 2022 and 2023.
“Never give up on your dream. Work hard. I’m super proud of myself.”
Pegula had arrived in New York with a title in Toronto and runner-up spot to Sabalenka in Cincinnati.
She had won 15 out of 16 matches on the North American summer hard court swing.
“I wish she would have at least let me get one set. We had a tough match in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and she’s one of the best in the world,” said the American.
“She’s super powerful and isn’t going to give you anything. She can take the racquet out of your hand.
“I’m just glad I was able to stay in there and keep taking opportunities.”
Sabalenka lost the 2023 US Open final to Pegula’s compatriot Coco Gauff and she struggled to settle in during the early stages on Saturday as a flurry of errors handed the home favorite a break for 2-1.
But the powerful Sabalenka levelled immediately and broke again for 4-2.
A capacity crowd of 23,000 included sporting royalty such as Olympic 100m gold medallist Noah Lyles, NBA star Steph Curry and former Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton watched on.
Most were behind Pegula but the 30-year-old was defenseless against the remorseless hitting of the world number two, whose screams echoed beneath the closed roof of the cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Pegula, who had knocked out world number one Iga Swiatek and then battled from a set and break down to see off Karolina Muchova in the semifinal, clung on.
From 2-5 down, she hit back for 5-5, breaking Sabalenka as the Australian Open champion served for the set.
In a marathon 12th game, however, Pegula saved four set points but not the fifth.
Sabalenka had unleashed 25 winners and committed 23 unforced errors to Pegula’s nine and 11, illustrating a dramatic contrast of styles in the 60-minute opener.
For the second match in succession, Pegula was soon a set and break down again, a double fault allowing Sabalenka to move ahead 3-0.
Incredibly, the 30-year-old stormed back to lead 5-3 before Sabalenka broke in the 10th game as her opponent attempted to level the final.
Sabalenka held her nerve to claim victory when Pegula went long with a weary drive.