Home Hero Coll Downs ElShorbagy To Clinch New Zealand Open

New Zealand’s Paul Coll is the 2023 Lucino Vanities New Zealand Open champion after recording a 3-0 victory over Marwan ElShorbagy in front of the home crowd in Tauranga.

The Kiwi, who suffered heartbreak against Marwan’s brother, Mohamed, in last year’s final, came into today’s final on an impressive run of form that saw him capture the Hong Kong Open one week ago and looked confident from the opening rally.

The former World No.1 started brilliantly, covering the court well with his trademark relentless energy as he took the lead with an 11-6 win in game one.

ElShorbagy, who last night fought back from two games down in a brutal 83-minute battle with Joel Makin, struggled to match the top seed’s intensity as the match wore on, with Coll doubling his lead with another 11-6 win in game two.

As game three begun, the home crowd began to sense that today would be Coll’s day as the home hero continued to put work into ElShorbagy’s legs and edged the fast-paced duels at the front.

Sure enough, Coll was able to see things out in relative comfort, with the home fans erupting in applause as he put the match to bed with yet another 11-6.

For both Coll and ElShorbagy, attention immediately turns to the WSF Men’s World Team Championship, which begins tomorrow in Tauranga.

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More to follow

Lucino Vanities New Zealand Open Final

[1] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [2] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (42m)