Paul Coll won his opening match yesterday with a straight game second-round victory over American Timothy Brownell. Photo / Supplied
Paul Coll won his opening match yesterday with a straight game second-round victory over American Timothy Brownell. Photo / Supplied
Two Kiwis are through to the quarter-finals of the New Zealand Squash Open in Tauranga after straight game wins for headliners Joelle King and Paul Coll.
48 of the world's biggest squash stars are in Tauranga for the Robertson Lodges New Zealand Men's Open and the Barfoot & Thompson NZWomen's Open at TrustPower Baypark Arena.
The last time the NZ Open was held in the country was in 1993.
Paul Coll won his opening match yesterday with a straight game second-round victory over American Timothy Brownell, but only after an initial battle.
Coll, the world No 2, beat Brownell (ranked 59th) 11-6, 11-9, 11-3 in 42 minutes to progress to the quarter-finals, where he will face sixth seed Adrian Waller (England) tonight.
"I missed my targets in the first couple of sets. I was enjoying it, the crowd was enjoying [it]. He's a character, yeah; I enjoyed the match, and [am] looking forward to the match tomorrow," said the 30-year-old from Greymouth, who had a large number of his family in the crowd.
"There are so many familiar faces - not just my immediate family, but people I grew up playing with, people who coached me and helped me in my career.
"This week is awesome, to see all those people. I get to show them what I can do on the court. They helped me get to this part of my career. They are a big part of my journey in what we have accomplished on the squash court this week."
Coll beat Waller in straight games - albeit, in a tough match - in the quarters of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where he went on to win the gold medal.
King, ranked No 5 in the world, moved past Australian Jess Turnbull in 42 minutes with an 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 triumph after easing through the first game.
However, Turnbull, ranked 70th, showed some resolve and variety in her game in the second and third sets.
"I was 5-love up in the first. It took me by surprise how well I was hitting the ball. She's a tricky opponent and ranked a lot lower than me, but I feel she has good skills," King said.
"She's one of those players that, if you're not accurate enough, she'll put the ball away. But I'm happy to come away with a win."
Joelle King moved past Australian Jess Turnbull in 42 minutes with an 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 triumph after easing through the first game. Photo / Supplied
The 34-year-old was unbeaten during the Nations Cup teams event last week and said she was feeling positive going into the PSA NZ Open.
"It's a new tournament. Last week I felt like I was on a roll, but last week is gone. You have to come out and expect the lower-ranked players to come out and have a go at you.
"Being here at home, there's a lot of expectation. People want to see us in the final and going through the draw. I'm just trying to do everything right.
"Sometimes you're beaten by a better player on the day. That's just sport in general. But, I'm going to be doing everything I can to stop that happening."
King now plays American Sabrina Sobhy in the quarters tonight.
King has beaten Sobhy on all seven occasions they have played, including three times this year. However, Sobhy is known for her speed around the court and running every shot down.
Manawatū's Kaitlyn Watts had a second-round loss to the Welsh sixth seed Tesni Evans at the Devoy Squash Club in Tauranga in three games, 11-2, 11-2, 11-5.
Meanwhile, there were a number of significant upsets in both the men's and women's draws in other second-round matches as men's fourth seed Miguel Rodriguez (Colombia, ranked 13th) was beaten in straight games, 16-14, 12-10, 16-10 by Canadian David Baillargeon, while Argentine Leonardo Romiglio won a marathon five-game match over fifth seed Saurav Ghosal (India).
Eighth seed Sebastien Bonmalias, from France, was also beaten. He lost in straight games to American Andrew Douglas. In the women's draw there was a surprise, with Japan's Satomi Wantanabe, ranked 48th in the world, accounting for third seed and 10th-ranked Salma Hamy from Egypt.
