Joelle King and Paul Coll have taken another step towards a pair of squash medals at the Commonwealth Games with quarter-final wins in their respective singles matches on Tuesday morning.
King was up first with a clash against hometown hero Lucy Turmel and despite winning 3-1 was made to work by the Englishwoman in an 85 minute slugfest that finished up 9-11, 18-16, 11-9, 14-12.
Turmel took the first game after fighting her way back from a 3-6 deficit and showed that defiance again in the following game when she recovered from being down 6-1 to rein in the Kiwi defending champion.
With King looking to close out the second game at 10-9, Turmel managed to force the it to a tiebreaker although King was the one who stayed in control throughout most of it until she finally won the set with her 18th point.
Turmel wasn't dissuaded though, coming out to win the first point of the third set as again the pair traded back and forth throughout.
Sitting again on game point at 10-8, Turmel looked to force another tiebreaker and one the next point but King showed her composure to stop the comeback there and won the third game 11-9.
The same couldn't be said for the fourth game though with Turmel able to force another tiebreaker from a 10-8 deficit but the Kiwi eventually sealed the match four points later, earning herself a place in the semi-finals.
Coll's contest, also against an English opponent in Adrian Waller, was a 3-0 victory although he too was made to work in the opening game which went to a tiebreaker.
After jumping out to an early 7-3 lead, Waller managed to claw his way back into the contest and eventually forced Coll to win by two with a 10-10 scoreline.
The former World No.1 managed to do just that four points later though, taking the first set 14-12.
From there, Coll managed to take control of the contest as he wrapped up the match 11-4, 11-7 over the next two games in a match that lasted 47 minutes.
The results mean King and Coll will return Wednesday morning NZT to contest places in the women's and men's singles finals before they come together for a campaign in the mixed doubles.
King will also contest the women's doubles with Amanda Landers-Murphy.
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