Supplied
Paul Coll is through to the final of the Qatar Classic.
Paul Coll has broken his run of losses to Egyptian Mostafa Asal to reach the final at the Qatar Classic squash tournament in Doha.
The pair had met three times previously on the PSA World Tour, with Asal winning all three usually feisty contests.
They had an average match time of over 95 minutes, but this match was nothing like the others, as Coll showed his class throughout for a relatively comfortable 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 win in 46 minutes.
The 29-year-old West Coaster put an end to his winless streak as he switched up his tactics to keep composed and find his length and range against Asal, who looked to be struggling to find any consistent rhythm in the match.
READ MORE:
* Paul Coll wins marathon match to reach Qatar Classic semifinals
* Joelle King and Paul Coll make US Open squash quarterfinals
* Squash star Paul Coll a step closer to another final after winning Egyptian Open quarterfinal
The win saw 2021 British Open champion Coll reach his third final in Qatar, following the PSA World Championships in 2019 and the Qatar Classic last season.
“He’s one of the in-form players at the moment,” Coll said after his first win over the Egyptian. “When you get him in the draw you know it’s going to be brutal and tough.
“He had an incredible US Open, I’ve got big respect for how he backed up four five-setters in a row, but for me it was a huge mental battle and a hurdle I had to get over to beat him.
“I’m very happy with my performance today, I changed my tactics a little bit and it worked well for me.”
Coll will play good friend Diego Elias of Peru in the final and has a 2-1 win/loss record over him including a win a couple of weeks ago in San Francisco.
“I’ve been saying all week third time lucky, …….
