Paul Coll in action. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand's Paul Coll is one win away from a third British Open final after he defeated Malaysia's Eain Yow Ng in straight games following a masterclass at the Birmingham Rep Theatre.
World No.2 Coll, who won the British Open in 2021 and 2022, dominated the quarter-final and Eain Yow wasn't able to adjust as Coll got on the volley and punished his opponent.
Eain Yow produced a superb comeback to beat former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad in the previous round, but Coll was ruthless tonight and dictated the tempo of the match to ensure there would be no threat of a repeat.
The Kiwi completed an 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 victory in just 28 minutes to set up a mouth-watering last four clash with either World No.4 Mostafa Asal or USA's Timothy Brownell.
"I thought more than anything he might be emotionally flat given it was a big comeback and a big win for him [against Gawad]," said Coll.
"I wanted to get myself going and wanted to play at a pace that he was uncomfortable with. I haven't done that so far in the first two rounds, and now we're in the quarter-finals it's time to step up.
"I've got some of my family over from New Zealand and I've got my best mate, my coach and my fiancé watching me. I'm going to enjoy this week, they give me a lot of energy and I felt that out there tonight. I felt pumped up and I wanted to do them proud."
Coll said Dame Susan Devoy, an eight-time British Open champion, had come over from New Zealand.
"And that's amazing too. I want to give them something to cheer about and make it noisy in here.
"The crowd here is awesome. It's a very knowledgeable crowd and they're appreciative of good squash. That's the why I like squash to be played, so I always love playing in England, they're one of the best crowds we play in front of."