Paul Coll made a slow start, but the Kiwi second seed has progressed to the quarter-finals of the Qatar Classic squash tournament in Doha.
The world No. 3 couldn’t quite find his rhythm but still won his third round match 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 in 48 minutes against talented Frenchman Baptiste Masotti.
“It’s been a long gap between my last match and this one,” said Coll who felt he could have done more to finish the match on a more positive note.
“So it was a bit of a slow start for me. He played very well and he was quite controlled. I think he’s been working on hi game and he’s a bit more mature now.
“All credit to him, but I started a bit slowly I didn’t quite find my attacks like I wanted to and it’s something I’ll work on for the next round.
“I wasn’t too nervous. I knew what I was doing wrong and what I had to do, so it was about correcting that. Halfway through the second I got a bit more aggressive with my boy and movement and my shots flowed from there.
“It didn’t quite carry through to the third, but I’m happy to get off in three, no damage done and I know what I need to work on.”
The 29-year-old will now face Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar, ranked 15th, in the last eight of the tournament tomorrow
The winner will face either Mostafa Asal or Tarek Momen in the semi-finals.