A few years ago I reported on a squash match marathon in New York. In 2007 Jamie Stout, a native Bermudian, world racquets champion and pro at the Racquet & Tennis Club, took on club member Matthew McAndrew. The score was 98-0: first to one hundred, British scoring, continuous play. The wager: one thousand dollars.
The match, played by the old Hand-in, Hand-out scoring system, lasted about an hour and a half without a single break. Mac won a scoring point at 98-37 and so had the first of about ten match points. But each time Stout managed to survive, sometimes with frighteningly desperate gets. The gallery was jam-packed and the total side-bet wagering went into the five figures. Stout ended up winning 100-99.
Mac didn’t walk normally for a week and couldn’t play squash again for a month. Tomorrow night at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia we are seeing another such marathon match. Gilly Lane, local pro who just retired from the PSA tour after reaching 48 in the world, is taking on a RCOP club member Murphy Barton. This time the scoring will be PAR, with Barton starting off at 96-0.
Goes to show that PAR just isn’t as exciting as Hi-Ho, but this death match—”no breaks, no water, no medical assistance”—should provide some fireworks.