IRELAND'S number one player, Owen Casey, made a noteworthy breakthrough on the ATP tour in Paris yesterday when he was accepted into the qualifiers of the French Open at Roland Garros. Casey's singles ranking, 318th, easily enabled him to make the qualifiers' cut and he has been drawn against the Russian Andrei Cherkassov (142nd) in today's first round of the 128 draw. The Russian is the number 14 seed for the qualifying rounds.
Casey, sponsored by ACC, is easily the most persistent of Irish players and has just finished a series of challenger events overseas that has boosted his ATP world rankings in both singles and doubles.
Meanwhile, players at this year's Wimbledon championships should find it easier to spot the ball.
Officials of the All England Club have adopted a new ball intended to bring a glow to the famous courts on gloomy days.
The new ball is covered with a cloth treated in strong dye to make it "glow" an eye-catching shade of yellow. The cloth was manufactured by a Gloucestershire-based company which specialises in covering snooker tables.
Developers Slazenger claim the ball will be easier to see, providing fractionally longer reaction time against big servers like Britain's Greg Rusedski, who has been clocked at 138 m.p.h., and champion Pete Sampras.
Last year a "slower" ball was introduced in an attempt to combat the power merchants. This is the latest step towards encouraging longer rallies and greater entertainment value for spectators.
Chris Gorringe, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, said: "Wimbledon is committed to maintaining its position as the world's leading Grand Slam tournament".
