Nick Matthew Edges Ramy Ashour To Capture RAM Challenge In Grand Central Station by Rob Dinerman January 17, 2020
--- In a scintillating and high-octane display of skill, athleticism
and creativity, Nick Matthew triumphed over Ramy Ashour, 6-7, 9-7,
10-8, 7-5 to win the RAM Challenge Friday evening just prior to the
men’s and women’s final round of the Tournament of Champions in Grand
Central Station in Manhattan. The match was played under the rules of
the RAM scoring system, the brain-child of Ashour himself, in which
each game lasts three minutes, with the clock running only when points
are being contested (and therefore stopping between the end of one
point and the start of the next) and a clock placed at the front wall
so that everyone can see the seconds ticking down. One additional rule
is that when time expires, the player who is ahead still needs to win
one more point to win the game, and if the trailing player is able to
make up the deficit and tie the score, whoever wins the next point wins
the game.
This was exactly what happened in the opening game, in which
Matthew, after surrendering the first two points to a pair of angled
Ashour drop shots into the front-right nick, managed to lead 6-4 when
time ran out, only to lose the next three points, the last of them on a
melting Ashour drop shot after a lengthy exchange. Matthew was able to
rebound from this early setback and win each of the next three games,
in each case by a two-point margin and in each case when Ashour won at
least one point in “extra time” after trailing when the three minutes
had run out. This pair, winners of four Tournament of Champions titles
between them (Ashour annexed this crown in 2008, 2011 and 2013, with
Matthew winning it in 2012) and champions as well in both the World
Open and the British Open, had battled on multiple occasions in this
venue. Most of those matches pitted Ashour’s extraordinary flair for
the spectacular (whether in shot selection, shot-making or retrieving)
against Matthew’s consistency and error-free execution ---- and
tonight’s match fell into that exact pattern. Ashour scored the most
crowd-pleasing winners of the night, slashing winners dead into the
nick, especially on his backhand overhead into the front-right nick,
but he also committed more errors than Matthew, who did an admirable
job of preventing Ashour from getting open balls to attack, frustrating
Ashour by relentlessly running down would-be winners and hoisting high
lobs into the bright overhead lights that descended within an inch of
the back wall, giving Ashour virtually nothing to swing at.
That being said, every game was very close, with some of
the best points played either during extra time or late in regulation
as the final seconds ticked down. When the clock hit zero, that fact
was punctuated by a buzzer that was so shrill that it may have actually
affected the outcome of the fourth game. Matthew, who had successfully
fended off late-game Ashour rallies in both the second and third games,
led 5-4 with 20 seconds left on the clock. There followed an intense
exchange, during which the buzzer went off just as Ashour was lining up
a backhand drive. Clearly thrown off by such a loud noise, he tinned
the ball to fall behind 6-4. Ashour kept the ensuing point alive with a
full-out dive (the best retrieval of a night that was filled with great
retrievals by both players) and wound up winning it when Matthew
committed a rare tin on a backhand straight drop near the front. The
point that followed was a little more conservative, with both players
realizing its importance. Matthew finally hit a brave forehand
working-boast, in response to which Ashour tried a widely-angled
backhand cross-drop, the choice that earned him more winners than any
other play throughout the match. This one barely ticked the top of the
tin as the crowd (which had hoped to see the wonderfully entertaining
match last a little longer) groaned in dismay. A relieved Matthew
embraced Ashour, which was typical of their interaction all the way
through: both of them competing fiercely but with the atmosphere
leavened with clear signs of respect and affection. The match was a
huge success, partly due to the excitement and novelty of the RAM
scoring system, but mostly due to the quality of play generated by
these two decorated heroes and doubtless future Hall of Famers.
