A new tactic from Coll?
Coll seemed to try out a new game-plan against Farag in the British Open Final: targeting Farag's forehand.
A tactic he announced from the very first shot of the match, when he elected to serve (unusually) from the Left.
Footage from SquashTV
A heatmap of where Coll and Farag hit their shots from over the match shows Farag playing the majority of his shots from behind the right hand service box.
Coll vs Farag Heatmap, British Open Final 2022
Time after time, Coll returned the ball to Farag's forehand...
Footage from SquashTV
...where previously, Coll would have tested an opponent deep on the backhand.
Against Farag in Hull, Coll hit a remarkable 90% of his shots from deep right, straight.
British Open Final 2022. The numbers refer to % of shots played from deep right (circled) to each region by Coll (Left) and Farag (Right).
By way of comparison, Coll typically only hits 50% of shots from deep right, down the line.
Coll’s (Yellow) typical shot profile from deep right (circled). The numbers refer to % of shots played to each region.
And Coll used this tactic from mid-court too.
From mid left, for instance, Coll hit 2/3rds of shots to Farag's forehand in the BO Final; usually Coll hits just 1/3rd shots to opponents' forehands from here.
Coll vs Farag, British Open Final 2022. The numbers refer to % of shots played to each region. From mid-left, Coll (Yellow) hit 66% (55%+11%) of shots to Farag’s forehand.
As commentators Joey Barrington and Paul Johnson pointed out in the pre-match buildup, the skill required to fade the ball into the side wall time after time after time is not to be underestimated.
Footage from SquashTV
It's no surprise then, that 6 of Coll's 16 rally-winning shots (37.5%) were hit into deep right.
Footage from SquashTV
It was fitting, then, that the shot that won Coll his second British Open title should be a shot deep to Farag's forehand.
Footage from SquashTV
Coll had already discovered a (different) winning formula for beating Farag.
And he blended elements of that plan too:
In Hull, Coll lifted every 6 or 7 shots, while Farag lifted just once every 30.
Coll vs Farag, British Open Final 2022
Getting to the top is one thing. Staying there is another matter.
Coll told the crowd at the BO just how hard he'd fight to stay atop the perch.
What does this translate to on court? New game-plans, while your opponents are still working out your old ones.