Coll to face Asal in El Gouna semifinals
- Dave Worsley
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
New Zealand’s Paul Coll has reached the semifinals at the El Gouna International Squash Open, ending the run of 17-year-old Mohamad Zakaria in straight games in front of a packed crowd.
Zakaria took out No 6 seed Tarek Momen in the opening round and showed glimpses of that form in the opening game against the world No 3 Coll as the Egyptian showed his desire to disrupt the rhythm of the Kiwi.
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Coll’s game plan was clear, make Zakaria work hard for his points and keep the rallies as long and tough as possible.
In a perfect scenario for the New Zealander, he took the two opening games in 27 and 23 minutes. The effort of Zakaria was not going unnoticed by the Egyptian crowd but the rallies were all going in the favour of Coll, who was looking certain for a spot in the semis.
The end came quick for the teenager as he was clearly feeling the effects of the first two games and struggled to put any pressure on the former No 1, who stormed to the finish line winning 11-4 in the third.
“He’s playing very well. I believe that he’s breaking into he top 20 after this tournament, the second youngest player ever to do it so really well done to him. I felt comfortable out there, I controlled the pace quite well and I felt good I injected the pace in and I was happy to do that so well.
“Being on the court more gives me more of an advantage for sure. I tried to use my older age and experience to play in these conditions and I felt comfortable out there tonight.
“Asal gave me a hiding in London a few weeks back, so I’ve got to tweak a few things. He had a rest tonight so I’m sure he’s enjoying that but no, he’s playing very well at the moment so I have to adjust a few things and come out and give it my best shot.”