Two decisive singles defeats at the hands of top seeds Slovenia ushered Ireland out of contention in the European women's team tennis championship in Porto, Portugal, on Saturday. It was a tame exit. Both Kelly Liggan and Gina Niland remained under pressure throughout their hour-long matches and could each only pick up two games. Slovenia's Barbara Mulej scored a comfortable 6-2 6-0 win over Niland. Liggan's opponent, Maja Matevzic, proved mercilessly aggressive off the ground deploying a venomous forehand, her chief asset in a 6-1, 6-1 win. Claire Curran and Yvonne Doyle were clear-cut winners in the dead rubber doubles, beating the Spela Rajh and Ana Skafar 6-3 6-3.

Third place play-off: Ireland beat Portugal 3-1. C Correia bt G Niland 6-4, 6-1; K Liggan bt A Nogueira 6-3, 6-2; C Curran and Y Doyle bt C Correia and A Cardoso 6-4, 6-1.