Asal walks it

Paul Coll knows the longer any match goes on, the greater the chance his fitness will be the deciding factor. At El Gouna, Coll may have kept Asal on court for 30 minutes in Game 1 alone – longer than most amateur matches. But did he make Asal work?

Footage from SquashTV

The first rally of the match was 61 shots long - and that set the tone. In the opening game, a third of rallies were 40 shots or longer. Mean rally length 31 shots.

Game 1: Rally Length by Rally Number

But there’s 60 shot rallies and there’s 60 shot rallies. In Game 1, Coll hit the ball short just once every 40 shots. By comparison, players typically take the ball short every 10 shots.

All shot locations, Game 1

Coll hit to deep on 81% of shots in Game 1. He played 0 counter-drops. With the front court out of the game, Asal knew he could hang back and conserve energy. On occasions, Asal took up a T-position behind the service boxes, and even walked back to his split step.

Footage from SquashTV

A lot has been made of the leaner, fitter Asal, shedding 7kg in the past few months. At 71 minutes (3-0), the match may have been a long one. But played at this pace, and from predictable locations, duration was not going to trouble Asal.