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The 2005 winner of the competition begins his campaign against Lyu Haotian in the first round, and admitted relief at swerving the likes of Stephen Maguire and Jack Lisowski early on.
“There’s obviously a couple of grenades that you could have avoided – [Stephen] Maguire was one of them, [Jack] Lisowski another.
“I’m happy to have avoided those. After that, I mean it’s just take your pick, isn’t it? Lyu Haotian on his day can beat anyone, as can I.”
Murphy was grateful not to go through the arduous qualifying route, but is wary of facing someone like Lyu, who battled past Daniel Wells and Jenson Kendrick to make it into the main draw.
“I’m delighted to still be in the 16 and seeded through, not to have to go through the rigmarole of the qualifiers,” Murphy said.
“The other side of that is that the qualifiers who come through are sharp, they’re ready, they’re hungry, they’re at it.
“Like all first rounders, it’s going to be like that first fence at the Grand National.
“I haven’t been involved in the championship the last few years. I got to the final three years ago. I’ve lost in the first round in the last two championships.
“I either seem to have a really deep run to the semis or final, or get bumped out in the first round.
“So I’m hoping that I can buck my recent trend and get out of the first round, get through that melee of the first fence.”
Two-time Crucible semi-finalist Mark Allen was involved in the draw itself and picked out some of the standout ties involving the sport’s biggest names.
“There’s a couple of massive games there,” Allen told the BBC. “Luca [Brecel] vs [Dave] Gilbert to kick things off on Saturday.
“Ronnie [O’Sullivan] against Jackson [Page], who loves the big occasion. [Judd] Trump against [Hossein] Vafaei, Ding [Junhui] against [Jack] Lisowski a ridiculous match for the first round as well.
“What a match-up with Joe O’Connor [against Mark Selby], two Leicester boys, two good friends so that could be a good one as well.”
Allen faces an arguably less eye-catching opening showdown against Robbie Williams, but heaped the plaudits on the man making his fourth appearance at the tournament.
“Robbie is someone I’m a big admirer of actually and the way he came through that qualifier the other day from 9-8 down, he’s a class player but they’re all good players at the end of the day,” Allen said.
TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
Emma Raducanu impressively beat Linda Noskova in straight sets to set up a clash with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the Stuttgart Open quarter-finals.
Former US Open champion Raducanu powered through the first set in 27 minutes with a bagel and went on to win 6-0 7-5 against world No. 31 Noskova.
Speaking after the win, Raducanu said: “I must say I am not too surprised because I have been working really hard on the training court and I knew it was just a matter of time.
“I don’t think this is my best, I still have a long way to go but I am really happy that the rewards are starting to come on the match court because you know how it is when you are training day in, day out and the results aren’t going your way.
“It’s never that far away I guess and that’s something I have been learning.
“Going through everything I have gone through after the US Open and then last year with eight months out with surgery, it gives you a different appreciation.”
Swiatek has won both previous meetings against Raducanu at Indian Wells in 2023 and in the Stuttgart quarters two years ago.
“I have come a long way in two years and matured a lot,” said Raducanu. “She [Swiatek] has achieved so much.
“It’s a match where I have nothing to lose. I can just swing and enjoy it. I am looking forward to it.”
More to follow
Marseille defeated Benfica 4-2 on penalties, after the sides were deadlocked 2-2 on aggregate, and go on to face Atalanta in the semi-finals of the Europa League
The hosts dominated the match, which they went into with a 2-1 deficit, but for much of the game it appeared they might be held out by the stout Benfica defence and goalkeeping of Anatolii Trubin.
This was until substitute Faris Moumbagna headed home a cross from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 10 minutes from time.
After a pulsating 90 minutes, extra time was a more measured affair with both sides out on their feet by the end of the 120 minutes.
Angel Di Maria missed the opening spot kick shooting against the right post, then after five perfect kicks, Antonio Silva saw his shot saved by Pau Lopez diving to his right and Luis Henrique then scored to send l’OM into the last four.
More to follow
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West Ham produced a valiant display but ultimately came up short as Bayer Leverkusen substitute Jeremie Frimpong struck in the dying seconds to earn the newly crowned German champions a UEFA Europa League semi-final spot with a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.
After winning the first leg of the quarter-final 2-0 last Thursday, the unbeaten Bundesliga leaders endured a torrid first period before recovering strongly to equalise on 89 minutes when Frimpong’s deflected shot flew off Aaron Cresswell and beyond helpless home goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham had dominated the first period and deservedly moved ahead on 13 minutes when Michail Antonio rose bravely to power a header into the net from a delightful Jarrod Bowen cross into the heart of the visiting area with goalkeeper Matej Kovar slow to react.
But they ran out of steam after half-time as visiting coach Xabi Alonso made several changes to steady matters with Leverkusen deservedly progressing to a semi-final meeting with Roma.
Leverkusen remain on course for a historic treble of league, German Cup and UEFA Europa League with the club’s first Bundesliga crown already in the bag.
Follow the Europa League live Football match between Atalanta and Liverpool with Eurosport. The match starts at 7:00 PM on April 18th, 2024.
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Mohamed Salah was on target but Liverpool’s hopes of a famous comeback were thwarted as they bowed out of the UEFA Europa League at the quarter-final stage despite a 1-0 victory at Atalanta.
Jurgen Klopp’s men faced an almost impossible task following a shock 3-0 home reversal in the first leg at Anfield and so it proved as La Dea progressed 3-1 on aggregate.
The Merseyside club got off to the perfect start on seven minutes when Salah netted his 24th goal of the season from the penalty spot.
The Egyptian then wasted a gilt-edged chance to double Liverpool’s lead on the night when he lobbed wide when sent clear by Cody Gakpo.
Atalanta improved following the interval and should have levelled but Ederson shot straight at Alisson.
Liverpool ran out of ideas midway through the second period and never looked like setting up a barnstorming finale in what will prove to be Klopp’s final match in charge in Europe.
Atalanta will now meet Marseille or Benfica in the semi-finals. Liverpool will turn their full attention to the Premier League title race and a match at Fulham on Sunday.
When Salah struck inside the opening 10 minutes the talk of stirring European comebacks gathered momentum on social platforms, but in the end it wasn’t to be as Liverpool’s first-leg nightmare proved too much of a mountain to climb.
Klopp may well regret picking a weakened side to start that game at Anfield and he didn’t make that mistake here, with Trent Alexander-Arnold showing how influential he can be early on in his first start since injury. Understandably, he ran out of steam – and so did his teammates – with the visitors’ first-half promise fizzling out.
Indeed, Liverpool won the night but it’s the Italians who move on after securing arguably the finest triumph in their history.
The Merseysiders will now need to focus all their energies on their final six Premier League matches, with no margin for error and favours needed to reel Manchester City back in.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool). The right-back demonstrated the creativity the Reds have been missing in his absence on what was his first start since February 10. It was his cross that led to the only goal while his comfort in possession and long-range passing caught the eye for the majority of his 70 minutes on the pitch. It may not have helped a Liverpool revival here, but it bodes well for the PL run-in.
