Squash: Friends turned rivals as King progresses at British Open

  • 16/05/2018
Landers-Murphy King
Amanda Landers-Murphy & Joelle King celebrate Commonwealth Games gold. Photo credit: Photosport

Last month, they were gold-medal allies, but Kiwis Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy have become squash rivals, after squaring off at the British Open.

World No.4 King has overwhelmed Landers-Murphy 11-3 11-6 11-7 in just 23 minutes to progress to the second round, where she will meet Tesni Evans of Wales, singles bronze medallist at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

King won singles gold on the Gold Coast and combined with Landers-Murphy for victory in the women's doubles.

"It's a far cry from last year, when I lost first round," she said. "Obviously, it's tough to play one of my best friends on tour, but you just have to put that to one side, go out there and try to play your best squash.

"We've just stayed together for two weeks in Bristol, she has been training with the group there, so we spend a lot of time together.

"It's always tough to play someone that you are close to, but everyone is professional and whether you are friends or not, you play to win."

Commonwealth Games men's singles silver medallist Paul Coll also moved into the second round, defeating Englishman George Parker 11-9 11-6 4-11 11-8 over 72 minutes.

The Kiwi world No.10 now faces Egyptian seventh seed Karim Abdel Gawad at the next stage. Gawad was top-ranked in the world a year ago, but Coll has previously beaten him.

Newshub.