'Never had an experience like that' – Murphy reveals travel misery after cue goes missing

The 2005 world champion said he locked himself in his hotel room until his luggage arrived 48 hours later, but it did not knock him out of his stride as he found peak form to complete a 6-3 last-16 win over John Higgins at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday.

“I always enjoy playing John because when you do play one of the greats, you’ve to play well,” said Murphy. “I had a good few days to think about that match. I’m relieved that I played well.

“Sometimes you have to adapt and get on with it. I’ve never had an experience like that when I’ve taken a direct flight and all my luggage arrived. It was metres away from me, but they couldn’t access it or unlock the baggage hold.”

“It was funny, because I kept checking my Airtag to see where my luggage was and it was sat on the plane, it hadn’t moved from where we arrived for 48 hours.

“While everyone else was attending PR ceremonies and practising, I’ve got one set of clothes, one set of pants, one pair of socks and it was locking myself in the room and having as many showers as I can.”

Murphy is looking for an improvement in his fortunes after struggling to reach the heights last term with the highlight of his season his run to the semi-finals of the Masters in January.

“Hopefully, I’ll go onto bigger and better things following one of the worst seasons of my career,” said Murphy. “This season can’t be much worse.

“I like being in Shanghai, I love playing in China and it is great seeing the fans again.”