Leading New Zealand squash player Paul Coll has set up a historic quarterfinal clash with the world's best player after a gutsy win at the World Championships in Manchester.
New Zealand squash player Paul Coll Photo: Supplied
World No 8 Coll outlasted England's Daryl Selby over 82-minutes in their third round battle on Wednesday (NZ time).
The victory makes the 25-year-old from Greymouth the first New Zealand man since Ross Norman in 1991 to reach the last eight at the World Championships.
It also puts him through to a match with French World No 1 and top seed Gregory Gaultier for a place in the semifinals.
Coll had won his two previous encounters with Selby on the PSA World Tour but the 15th-ranked Englishman, appearing at his 11th World Championships, took the opener 11-8.
The exhausting rallies continued into the second game and both players battled to keep the ball alive, with Coll finding a couple of vital points to pull away and take the second game 11-5.
The New Zealander's firepower forced Selby to move around the court and forced errors, which caused a loss of momentum for Selby, which allowed Coll to claim the third game 11-7.
Despite Selby being strong in the middle of the court ,it was Coll's fitness which again showed through to clinch the fourth game 11-7 and win the match.
"I was very happy to close that out in four games because it was such a high quality game and there weren't many mistakes between us," Coll said.
"The team I have around me are great and they help send me in the right direction. I've been very lucky for the people that have come into my career.
"I've put in the hard work and always try my best in training, so I'm looking forward to resting tomorrow and then playing in [the] quarterfinal."
Coll and Gaultier played last month in Hong Kong, with the Frenchman winning in a long five game contest.
New Zealand No 1 and women's ninth seed Joelle King plays her second round match against seventh seed Sarah-Jane Perry of England on Wednesday night.
