Squash: Kiwi Paul Coll pulls off stunning upset at US Open

Paul Coll. Photo / Getty

Kiwi squash player Paul Coll has caused a significant upset in the first round of the US Open in Philadelphia.

The tournament's unseeded world number 10 has beaten world number two Karim Adbel Gawad from Egypt, in what the US Open website called "one of the biggest first round upsets the tournament has ever seen."

Coll took out the win in 74 minutes, finishing with a 11-8, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8 victory.

"I'm really happy," said Coll. "I've been working really hard during the off-season and I'm cashing in and it's going really well.

"It's definitely one of the most significant wins of my career," the 25-year-old said.

"I've known for a long time that I'd be playing him, and I prepared hard for it.

"I stuck to my game plan and trusted in what I was doing. I knew he'd come out hard in the third but I got back into it in the fourth and hit the right lines and length."

Coll now faces 31st-ranked Omar Mosaad from Egypt in the second round.

"The tournament's not over and I've still got a few more matches so I just need to stay grounded and move on."

Meanwhile in the women's draw fellow Kiwi Joelle King has won through to a second round match against world number two Camille Serme from France.