Craig and Coll take Australia Day titles

Cantabrians Megan Craig and Paul Coll have taken out the Australia Day Challenge PSA/WSA titles in Ipswich, Queensland today.

The women's finalists were the first to take the court, with top seed Megan Craig up against surprise finalist Lakeesha Rarere.  Rarere, just 17 years of age, had upset experienced campaigner Lisa Camilleri in last night's semi-final in a titanic five set match. 

Craig, wary of the threat posed by the young challenger, was quick out of the blocks in the final, taking the first game 11-7.  In hot and humid conditions - 36 degrees celsius - the rallies were long, but Craig continued to get on the winning end of them.  After taking the second game, she closed out the match by winning the third game 11-4.  It was the seventh WSA title of Craig's career, coming soon after the sixth, which she claimed in Malaysia in October last year.

Craig's victory ensured a New Zealand double, with the men's final to be contested by two New Zealanders.  Top seed and double defending champion Paul Coll was up against unseeded Wellingtonian Evan Williams.  Both players overcame tough opposition to collect their boarding passes to the title decider.  Coll defeated  Matt Karwalski, who came through qualifying after retiring last year, after being ranked int he world's top 50, to pursue coaching opportunities in Australia.  Meanwhile Williams defeated compatriot Kashif Shuja, the former WR#36 and owner of ten PSA titles, in a tough four games.

Both players who would need to secure a career-first to take the title.  Coll would need to beat Williams for the first time to etch his name onto the trophy, while Williams would need to overcome his poor record in PSA finals (0/6) to take the choccies. 

It was Williams who made the better start to the match, taking the first set 11-4.  A titanic struggle in the second set also went the way of Williams; the 12-10 margin giving him a strong 2-0 advantage.  But for the second time in his career, Coll clawed back from 0-2 down in a PSA final to take victory, winning the final three sets 11-4 11-6 11-3 to seal the fourth PSA title of his career - inclusive of a hat-trick of Australia Day titles.

It is the second consecutive year that New Zealand has rained on the Australia Day parade - last year the titles were won by Paul Coll and Amanda Landers-Murphy. 

Results

WSA

Semi-finals

Megan Craig (1) bt Aika Azman (4) 11-1 11-3 11-5
Lakeesha Rarere (3) bt Lisa Camilleri (2) 11-7 11-8 4-11 11-13 11-9

Final
Megan Craig (1) bt Lakeesha Rarere (3) 11-7 11-4 11-4

PSA

Semi-finals
Paul Coll (1) bt Matt Karwalski 11-5 11-9 11-6
Evan Williams bt Kashif Shuja (4) 7-11 11-8 11-3 11-8

Final
Paul Coll (1) bt Evan Williams 3-11 10-12 11-4 11-6 11-3

Full results available here.