New Zealand squash pro Paul Coll has won his first title of the 2024-25 season, with victory at the Motor City Open Silver PSA tournament in Detroit.
He defeated Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas in a marathon 91-minute clash in four games for the title on Saturday (Sunday NZ Time).
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Second seed Coll was the favourite after being a beaten finalist last year and stepping up in the late withdrawal four-time champion Diego Elias.
However Coll was pushed all the way at the Birmingham Athletic Club, eventually taking the match by an 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 scoreline.
The four-game win was a demonstration of Coll’s relentless hitting, physical power and mental steeliness, having had to fight back from 1-0 down, and then from game ball down in the second, on his way to capturing the title.
The match began with both players happy to play long rallies while retaining the high tempo of the match. It was Cardenas, though, who managed to get himself an early lead on the scoreboard, never letting Coll retake the lead throughout the 26-minute first game before sealing it with a sublime overhead volley into the nick.
Coll started quickly in the second, looking to press on the short line and hunt down the volley on both sides. However, Cardenas proved tough to break down, coming from behind to hold a game ball on his racket at 10-9 up. Coll then pulled off a string of incredible retrievals to force a tie-break before levelling the match after almost 50 minutes of squash.
The two players continued to go toe-to-toe in a well-matched third game, but two consecutive strokes from Cardenas at 7-7 opened the door for Coll. The No.2 seed held his nerve to move 2-1 up and within a game of the title.
The fourth then went down to the wire, with the players deadlocked at 9-9 before Coll found his best squash at this pivotal moment. The 32-year-old managed to squeeze out Cardenas down the backhand wing on his first championship ball, letting out a huge roar towards his team as he picked up his first PSA title since April 2024.
“It’s been a pretty tough week for me all week. I haven’t been on my top form, but I’m very proud of how I got through it mentally. To get the title here today in my third final here at the Motor City Open, I’m extremely proud, said Coll.
“Leonel was impressive. I thought he was getting very tired, but he never gave me any cheap errors. I had to hit winners to win it. Credit to him because he was playing very well and very tough. It was nice to see him playing like that. He made it very tough today, a bit tougher than I would have liked, but it was a good battle.
“I’m starting to feel a bit better on court. This week was good for working a few things out and getting through a few tough matches mentally. I managed to find some good form at the back end. I’m excited to hit home to my hometown and play some good squash.”
Coll's next tournament is the New Zealand Open in Christchurch, a silver PSA event followed by the gold event the Australian Open in Brisbane.