He had to do it the hard way even if there was no top seed Diego Elias after the Peruvians withdrawal.

World No.4 Paul Coll captured his first title of the season after defeating Mexicos Leonel Cardenas in a marathon 91-minute encounter at the DR21 Motor City Squash Open 2025 in Detroit.

No.2 seed Coll, a strong favourite in the 25th edition of the Silver-level event after the withdrawal of four-time champion Diego Elias, was pushed all the way throughout the brutal encounter at the Birmingham Athletic Club, eventually taking the match by an 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 scoreline.

The four-game win was a demonstration of Colls relentless hitting, physical power and mental steeliness, with the New Zealander having to fight back from 1-0 down, game ball down in the second, on his way to capturing the title.

Narrow margins separated the two players throughout the match, but it was No.2 seed Coll who managed to draw upon his experience at the pivotal moments. The 32-year-old moved away from 7-7 and 8-8 in the third and fourth games, respectively, to claim his first Motor City Open title at the third time of asking.

Its been pretty tough for me all week, said Coll after he had to topple Briton Jonah Bryant early in the draw in another marathon.

I havent been on my top form, but Im very proud of how I got through it mentally. To get the title here today in my third final here at the Motor City Open, Im really happy.

Leonel [Cardenas] was impressive. I thought he was getting very tired, but he never gave me any cheap errors. I had to hit winners to win it. Credit to him because he was playing very well and very tough. It was nice to see him playing like that. He made it very tough today, a bit tougher than I would have liked, but it was a good battle.

Colls name will now join an elite list of champions on the Motor City Open trophy, with the likes of David Palmer, Jonathon Power, Amr Shabana, and Mohamed ElShorbagy, having all won the Detroit-based event in the past. 

Result: Final

[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [7] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 3-1: 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 (91m)