Snooker: Trump sets sights on No 1 ranking

Judd Trump said he wants to dominate the sport for years to come after he booked his place in the semi-finals of the UK Championship yesterday with an impressive 6-3 victory over Stephen Maguire in York.

"I'd love to become the world No 1, it's a big ambition of mine," said 22-year-old Trump, who reached the World Championship final earlier this year. "If I want to be the No 1 in the world I'll have to change my game, but that doesn't scare me. I'm not scared of any player on the circuit."

Trump will play Neil Robertson, the 2010 world champion, in the semi-finals today after the Australian beat China's Ding Junhui 6-2. "It's going to be tough against Neil," admitted Trump. "I'm pretty exciting and he's probably a little bit slower, but I think he loves the big stage. I didn't feel brilliant against Stephen, but I created some good chances and scored heavily. It's nice to be the [title] favourite now, but I don't feel as if there's any extra pressure."

Mark Allen will meet Ricky Walden in the other semi-final after Allen edged out Marco Fu 6-5 in a thrilling match last night. Allen dug deep for victory after his Chinese opponent had won three successive frames to take a 5-4 lead. Walden enjoyed a surprise 6-3 win over Shaun Murphy.