Ashour crowned champion of Punj Lloyd Masters

Mumbai: World number five Ramy Ashour stamped his class defeating Englishman Nick Matthew in a tight final to be crowned as the champion of the `Punj Lloyd PSA Masters 2009` at the Bombay Gymkhana.

Ashour held his nerve at crucial moments and pocketed the points that mattered as he won the final 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 against an opponent ranked one place above him in the world rankings. Trailing 6-2 in the first game, Matthew had no chance to prevent his record of not losing a game before this match in the tournament despite taking off a few good points.The Englishman retaliated back in the second game to first take a 7-1 lead and then 10-4. However, Matthew`s struggle to come to terms with a wet ball resulted in Ashour knocking six consecutive points. But Matthew prevailed following an unforced error by the Egyptian. In between the second set, the players took out time to enter into a verbal duel with each other and also the referee, to receive a conduct warning each in the process.The banter affected Matthew`s concentration as despite being ahead for a major part in the third game he failed to cash on. With the game at 9-8 in Matthew`s favour, Ashour earned two strokes to move ahead for the first time in the game and then went on to settle the issue. PTI