Paul Coll pushed in NZ Squash Open clash
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Kiwi squash world No 2 Paul Coll has defeated a fired up Moustafa Elsirty 3-1 in his opening match of the New Zealand Squash Open.
Competing at the Isaac Theatre Royal in front of a home crowd in Christchurch, Coll started slowly in the first, with Elsirty taking an early lead.
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The Egyptian then made several eerrors, finding the tin to tip momentum back in favour of the West Coaster who cruised to a 11-4 win.
Elsirty came out aggressively in the second, cutting out the errors and taking command of the rallies to go up 1-6 as Coll left too many balls in the middle.
The Kiwi fought back but was unable to make up the gap, with the Egyptian taking the game 8-11 and leaving the home crowd in a nervous state.
Coll regained his consistency the following game, firing off a succession of quick winners to go 7-3 before sealing a 11-7 win. It was a close affair in the fourth, with excellent squash on display from both players before Coll pulled away for an 11-9 victory to take the match.
“There were a few nerves floating around and plenty of excitement,” said Coll.
“I was trying to find my groove out there and he made it very tricky. He’s a tough opponent to play first up. He’s got great racket speed and hits it really well so if you leave anything loose out there he’s all over it.”
Coll will face either Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng or France’s Melvil Scianimanico in the tournament quarterfinals.
Meanwhile Wellington teen Ollie Dunbar lost in the second round of the tournament to Egypt's Mohamad Zakaria 11-6, 11-4, 11-4
