Two wins from two matches for New Zealanders at the British Squash Open this morning, although one of the victories was over another New Zealander
Women's world number 4 Joelle King put in a commanding performance as she downed countrywoman Amanda Landers-Murphy in straight-games to reach the tournament second round.
Joelle King of New Zealand competes against Sarah-Jane Perry of England in the Women's Singles Final Photo: Photosport
It was a quick-fire match between the Kiwi pair, who recently won gold together at the Commonwealth Games in the women's doubles event, however, King was in complete control as she dominated the court to condemn her compatriot to an 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 defeat in just 23 minutes.
"It's a far cry from last year when I lost first round!" said King following her victory. Obviously it's tough playing one of my best friends on Tour and someone from my home country but you just have to put that to one side and just go out there and both try and play your best squash.
"We've just stayed together for two weeks in Bristol, she has been training with the group there, so we spend a lot of time together and it's always tough to play someone that you are close to but everyone is professional and whether you are friends or not you play to win," said the multi medal winner from the Commonwealth Games.
"No matches are easy ones and even if you come off 3-0 you have still had to do some work to win these matches and now I play Tesni, which is another one of my close friends on the Tour, so it is going to be another similar situation.
"For New Zealanders the British Open is probably one of the most prestigious events that they know of because of Dame Susan and so there is a lot of following back home and hopefully we can have a good week."
King will now face Wales' Tesni Evans in the next round. Evans was a bronze medal winner at the recent Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile it was a tight encounter between New Zealand's World men's number Paul Coll and English qualifier, world number 53 George Parker.
Coll took the opening two games by a tight 11-9, 11-6 scoreline before Parker battled back by playing excellent squash and hitting winners to take the third by an 11-4 margin.
New Zealand squash player Paul Coll Photo: Supplied
Momentum then looked to be with the Englishman as he continued to put pressure on Coll with the Kiwi making some errors, however, he managed to maintain his composure to seal the win in the fourth after Parker saved two match balls.
"It was tough, he had a good game plan and stuck to it throughout the match," said the 26-year-old following his win. "I think I was a bit in and out of concentration. He played a really good third and I made a few mistakes and he played really well. It was tough going and I'm pleased to get through it and it was a good start to the tournament," said Coll after the 11-9, 11-6, 4-11 11-8 victory which took 72 minutes in total.
"I knew I had to start better and I just switched off in the third, he was aggressive and that really paid off for him. Credit to him he played really well and pushed right until the end. I can't wait to play on the glass again. I'm really excited and have had my eyes on this for a while and I'm ready to go."
Coll will now face Egyptian seventh seed Karim Abdel Gawad in round two early. The Egyptian player was ranked at No.1 in the world a year ago, however Coll has beaten him in the past.
