R2: Coll 3-0 Selby

[3] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-0 Daryl Selby (Eng)  11-4, 11-8, 11-8 (43m)

Those who followed the Worlds in Qatar were a bit worried for Paul’s quad, as it was injured during the final. But it would seem that he is all fine after a few days of intense physio (see his quote).

There was sure nothing wrong with his movement in the first game against Daryl today. From 1/2, he scored 7 points, thanks to a few uncharacteristic errors from the Englishman, and a huge, I mean huge rally at 4/2 must have dented the energetic capital of the 37 years young man… then 10/3 11/4 for the Kiwi in 13 long minutes…

The second is much closer the whole way, 1/1, 2/2, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7. Paul manages to edge up with a couple of points, and takes the third 11/8 in 15m of great work from both, and a few lucky shots/bounces at the back of the court from Paul that prompted a “that’s not fair that, how many times…!” from the English..

Paul opens the third with 3 quick errors, allowing Daryl to take a nice lead, 4/1. Caught up 4/4, 5/5. A nice moment when Daryl is waiting for a decision and gets a “are you asking for a let?”. “No, I’m just standing there for a laugh” retorts the Englishman… No let.

Paul kept going to 10/5, but a big push from Daryl, some stunning rallies, one particularly at 10/8, but it’s a tin at the end of a great sequence…. 11/8 for Paul.

Paul:

This was a real confidence booster for me. I had a little tear in my quad after my match in Qatar but I had physio twice a day for 5 days and they gave me the whole clear which was a very good news for me.

I didn’t feel it at all today. I took a couple of days off after Qatar and went to Birmingham to see my coach, Rob Owen. We just had a light week and did some really good hitting just to get me sharp, but nothing too physical. 

I felt pretty comfortable today. I was trying to find my range out there, as it’s the opposite on the scale compared with last week in Qatar, so a few errors, but I’m happy with my width and length today, really a great start for the event for me.

I have been working with Rob since the summer and we aren’t changing things too much.

He’s a wicked coach on how to hit a ball and we’re just working on getting me into good positions that give me more than one option. We’re not complicating anything, we made a good few technical adjustments, which are feeling really natural to me now which is great, but he’s just such a wizard on hitting the ball and he’s teaching me a few new things. The knowledge that he’s got is amazing and it’s making a difference.

I love this court and I’ve got some good memories here. When you’ve got good memories somewhere it’s always good to come back and play, so I’m looking forward to this week.