Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand's Paul Coll has eased through his semi-final at the Optasia Championship squash tournament in London to set up a final between the world's top two ranked players.
Second-seed Coll needed just under an hour to beat third seed Mostafa Asal 3-1, winning 11-4, 11-8, 4-11, 11-5, casting aside an opponent who had seven of their 11 previous meetings.
The tournament's 2016 champion, Coll looked under threat when Asal produced a string of winners to clinch the third game but the 31-year-old kept his cool in the fourth as his younger opponent made a stream of unforced errors.
"It was very clear in my head what I was doing," Coll said.
"Even though that third set ran away from me, I knew exactly why it ran away from me and it just goes to show the danger he possesses. If you leave the ball on his racket, you end going all over the court.
"I knew the power that he possesses. I've seen some of the comebacks he's put on. I'm very happy that after I lost one set, I attacked him and got it back on my terms."
Coll will face another Egyptian - top seed and world No.1 Ali Farag - in the final on Monday morning (NZT).
The last time the pair met was the final of the Windy City Open in Chicago, which Farag won 3-1.
Meanwhile, Coll's fiance Nele Gilis is through the women's final in London, where the Belgian top seed will face Japan's Satomi Watanabe.
