Paul Coll. Photo: photosport
Top seed Paul Coll turned on a clinic to outclass Marwan ElShorbagy in the men's final at the New Zealand Open squash tournament in Tauranga on Sunday.
World No.3 Coll was at his methodical best in a straight games win secured in just 42 minutes against his fifth-ranked English opponent, prevailing 11-6 11-6 11-6 to notch a maiden national open triumph and continue his superb form.
It comes a week after the 31-year-old won the Hong Kong Open and not long since his US Open triumph in October.
To round out a superb day for the athletic West Coaster, Coll's fiancee Nele Gilis won the women's final, the Belgian world No.5 beating her younger sister Tinne 11-8 11-3 11-8 in just under an hour.
Coll couldn't imagine a better outcome.
"That felt so good, the atmosphere today was wicked, I've got so many family and friends here that I didn't even know were coming. I was very happy to do it in three and ecstatic to finally get my name on the NZ Open trophy," he said.
"It's crazy to have Nele win as well, I really wanted that double win for us. I'm super proud of her, the performance she put in tonight shows real strength of character.
"It's been a full-on schedule lately but having the support of family and friends here has been amazing so hopefully we can carry this on for another week as we do the World Men's Teams Championship."
Coll will stay in Tauranga to compete for New Zealand in the men's world team championship beginning on Monday, alongside brothers Lwamba and Temwa Chileshe and 21-year-old Aucklander Elijah Thomas.