Kiwi squash pro Paul Coll has defended his New Zealand Open title with a dominant win over England’s Marwan ElShorbagy in Christchurch.
Coll quickly set the tone with a strong start to the match, tearing into ElShorbagy and providing himself a perfect platform with an 11-5 win in the opening game of the men's final.
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ElShorbagy found the perfect response in game two, with the second seed fired up and at his explosive attacking best as he hit back 11-8 to set nerves fluttering inside the Isaac Theatre Royal.
Game three was a brutal affair for both men, with Coll and ElShorbagy putting a number of lengthy rallies into each other’s legs in front of the 1,200 spectators.
The long games appeared to take their toll on ElShorbagy and the New Zealander moved away from 5-5 to regain his lead with an 11-6 win.
ElShorbagy appeared to be feeling the effects of game three at the beginning of the fourth, as Coll stormed to a 5-1 lead. The Englishman desperately tried to go on the attack to rattle off quick points, but Coll was simply too good, throwing his arms into the air in triumph as he powered home with an 11-3 victory in front of a jubilant crowd.
The final score 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3 in 59 minutes.
“It's been an unreal week,” said Coll. “I really went out with the mindset of trying to enjoy this week. This is pretty much my hometown and so many friends and family came out to support me.
“I never dreamed of this, to play such a big event here, to have so many people turn out today, it was pretty unreal. I'm so filled with emotion.”
In the women’s final 17-year-old Egyptian Amina Orfi won her third title of the season as she put in an incredible performance to defeat Japan’s Satomi Watanabe.
Orfi was magnificent early on, with the young Egyptian dominating proceedings to earn a 7-2 lead in the opener. Watanabe began to chip away at Orfi’s lead, but the World No.8 was simply too far ahead, taking the first game 11-5.
Watanabe hit her lengths better in game two, recovering from 0-4 down to take an 8-6 lead. Orfi was unrattled as she calmly notched up points, eventually working her way to an 11-8 win.
Flowing with confidence, Orfi never let her energy or commitment drop, and she took a huge lead at 9-4 in the third game. Watanabe took the next point to briefly threaten a comeback, but was no match for Orfi’s unnerving accuracy, with the teenager winning her third title of the season with an 11-5 victory.