‘Players are not robots and this isn’t the first time I’ve felt below par before a match – and it won’t be the last’
By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor
Paul Coll has praised Victor Crouin for his incredible win over the new world No.1 at Canary Wharf and vowed to be back on form for the British Open.
Coll’s army of fans who cheered him to the rooftops as he won his second Canary Wharf title in November were stunned into silence when he went down in straight games to Harvard student Crouin on Monday night.
Crouin, the 22-year-old US College individual champion, took advantage of a rare off day by the New Zealander to win 11-7, 11-7 in 36 minutes.
Coll told me today: “Victor played very well. He is a very talented player and will be pushing the top players very soon once he finishes college at the end of the season.
“There’s not too much to say about my match other than to say I think it was obvious I played some way below the level I have recently.
“I’m not making any excuses other than that – I simply played poorly and Victor took advantage and played very well.
“Players are not robots and this isn’t the first time I’ve felt below par before a match for whatever reason and it definitely won’t be the last.
“Sometimes these things happen and I will be looking to bounce back as quickly as possible and hopefully be playing my best squash again very soon.
“The last year has been an incredible 12 months for me and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”
While Mostafa Asal and Fares Dessouky take centre stage in tonight’s final of the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic, Coll is busy preparing for the Allam British Open which runs from March 28 to April 3.
Pictures courtesy of PSA World Tour and Patrick Lauson