A SIX-MONTH suspension on Ireland's young Davis Cup player, John Doran, has been reduced to four following an appeal by the player.

Doran, now a first year scholarship student at Harvard University, was defaulted by referee Steve Mehigan during a controversial match in the Leinster Open championships in Templeogue last August.

Acting on Mehigan's tournament report, the Leinster Competitions Committee suspended Doran for six months from the date of the tournament.

Doran was alleged to have been guilty of audible obscenities during the match and later had a verbal exchange with the referee.

Earlier in the year the talented Doran had been a member of the Ireland team that gained promotion in the Davis Cup.

He appealed the suspension to Tennis Ireland's disciplinary committee and appeared before that committee on December 29th, while on vacation from Harvard.

Says Tennis Ireland disciplinary committee convener David Nathan: "Having listened to the player, we reduced the suspension, feeling that he had missed important fixtures as a result, these being the European Nations Team championship and the Irish Indoor championships."

Nathan refutes any suggestion of there having been pressure brought to bear on the Tennis Ireland committee from outside source. He also confirmed that the suspension was a domestic ban and did not prevent the player from playing in the US.