Kiwi squash ace Paul Coll has successfully defended his British Open crown and retained his world No.1 ranking with a straight-games victory over Egyptian rival Ali Farag.
Last year, Coll, 29, became the first Kiwi male to win the prestigious title - the equivalent of a tennis Grand Slam - and was subsequently named Halberg Sportsman of the Year finalist.
After rising to the world's top spot last month, the Greymouth native was under pressure to keep his title, but needed just 50 minutes to dispatch Farag, who would have regained the No.1 ranking with victory.
Farag gave Coll everything he could handle in the first game, saving two game balls to force a tiebreaker, before losing 12-10. From there, the Kiwi was unstoppable, winning the final two games 11-6 11-4.
In the third, he took an early 6-0 lead that the Egyptian could not peg back. Coll completed his title defence without dropping a game throughout the tournament.
"Holding the No.1 spot and winning the title, there was a lot of pressure on it," he said. "I'm just extremely proud to win and keep my No.1 spot for another month, and then we have to do it all again.
"I’m just extremely proud of myself for pulling through. It sort of motivated me this week just to try and defend this title as hard as I could, and all I wanted to do was give my best effort out there.
"I played some amazing players this week and Ali, it's such a mental battle with us two, and it's just enjoyable squash, he's a great champion.
"I have so much respect for him, with what he's doing with his family, travelling around with their baby. He and Nour are just incredible, so I'm very proud to win this title against such a great champion."
Coll's next outing will be the world doubles championships at Glasgow, Scotland, next week, when he will combine with Joelle King in the mixed event. King reached the women's semi-finals at the British Open.
