Kiwis Beaten In World Champs Quarter-finals

A tough day for the two Kiwi players at the PSA Squash World Championship in Chicago with both Joelle King and Paul Coll losing their quarter-final matches.

King, the fourth seed was defeated by fifth seeded Frenchwoman, Camille Serme 7-11, 8-11, 4-11 in 37 minutes.

Serme was fired up from the first point and wouldn’t let King get into the match as the pair traded shots early on before the Frenchwoman began dictating play from the front of the court.

In the men’s quarter-final Coll was facing Ali Farag, the Egyptian who will be the world the new world No.1, for the third tournament in a row. And the overall result was the same too.

Farag won 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-1 in 51 minutes, however, he gave credit to the seventh seeded Kiwis.

“It was very tough. Paul and I have been playing in almost every tournament and this one was the third in a row. He gets smarter and fitter and I think today was very tactical. It was going to go to whoever got the middle of the court. He used heights really smartly and angles very well and never gave me anything. I had to be aggressive and there was a big long rally at the start of the fourth which was crucial.”

The rally at the beginning of the fourth game lasted 92 shots and appeared to be an indication of how much Farag wanted the match.

Coll is now scheduled to play as the top seed in a tournament in Toronto starting next week while King has a date with an event in Cairo, Egypt in ten days.