Having demolished John Higgins 10-1 on Saturday – inflicting the heaviest defeat in the Scot’s stellar 34-year career – Trump fared little better 24 hours later.
And that was despite the 36-year-old fighting back from 2-0 down to 2-2 and then taking what appeared to be a pivotal eighth frame to raise the prospect of a thrilling finale, after Zhao had compiled breaks of 91 and 98 in consecutive frames.
Instead Zhao’s dominance ensured that never materialised against a player he is homing in on at the top of the world rankings – moving up to fourth, with his fourth title of a trophy-laden campaign.
Trump admitted: “He’s a great player and he’s going to be around for a long time so it is up to me and a few of the other players to start playing well against him otherwise he’s going to end his career with 100 tournaments or something like that.
“I think over these past two months he’s been the best player in the world. He’s amazing for the game, so I always enjoy the challenge. For me now, it’s important to go away and try and improve.”
Trump, whose highest break of 61 arrived in the third frame, has bemoaned the condition of his cue tip in previous rounds and pointedly stared at it on several occasions after failing to dispatch routine pots.
He had opportunities in four of the five evening frames, but a missed black off the spot in the final frame typified an error-strewn display.
And just like in the first, fifth and sixth frames, Zhao ruthlessly won them all ruthlessly and he applied the coup de grace with his sixth half century of the match.
“Disappointed I couldn’t perform today for whatever reason,” added Trump.
“I’d have been better off using the spider under the table. It was hard, but it is my own fault for turning up with that tip.”
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