The Irish tennis team of Owen Casey, Scott Barron and John Doran defeated Malta in the semifinal of the European Championship (Division 2) at Marsa, Malta, yesterday.

"We're playing well as a team and playing a lot of high quality tennis. Yes, you could say we're looking forward to Saturday's final," team captain Peter Wright said yesterday.

"We are not sure who we meet in the final but it is likely to be Belgium. They have beaten Poland and should account for Portugal," wright added.

Both Casey and Barron varied their games sufficiently yesterday to upset their opponents and both singles lasted only a little over an hour. Casey never allowed his opponent Mark Schembri to get back into either set after early breaks. He won 6-1 6-1.

Barron was in something of a similar hurry, dismissing the challenge of Christopher Gatt 6-2 6-2. Casey joined John Doran to record as 6-2 6-3 win over Marco Carpello and Mark Schembri in the doubles.