Source: Radio New Zealand
New Zealand squash player Paul Coll. PAUL ELLIS / AFP
Greymouth squash player Paul Coll battled his way to a second Australian Open title with victory over Welshman Joel Makin in the final in Brisbane.
World number two Coll and Makin fought out a 44-minute opening game with the Kiwi number one winning 19-17.
He took the second game 11-4 and the 90-minute showdown finished with Coll taking the third game 14-12 against the world number six.
“It was an unbelievable battle,” Col said afterwards.
“I didn’t even care about what he had yesterday (107 minute match in his semi-final win over Mohamad Zakaria), he’s just so tough, and I knew he was going to come out hard.
“I thought I played well, but I just let it be sloppy in a couple of patches, at 10-6 in the third.
“I respect Joel so much for his professionalism and the way he trains like a beast. It’s always fun playing him and it’s always a great battle when we get out on court.”
Coll won his first Australian Open title in 2015 and was beaten in last year’s decider by Egyptian Karim Gawad.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
