A TRIUMPH over very unfavourable tennis weather was a notable feature of the Dunlop Irish Open Junior Tennis Championship finals at Fitzwilliam on Saturday. Nick Malone and Claire Curran won the premier under-18 titles.
Surprisingly, Curran had the more difficult task in dispatching Templeogue's Susan O'Neill. It went to a second set tie-break. O'Neill was in a commanding position in the second set and Curran's crown wobbled at least twice when asked to serve at 4-5 and 5-6 to stay in the set. O'Neill played shots of conviction, depth and some variation to leave the champion remonstrating with her own shortcomings.
Holding serve to 15 in both the 10th and 12th games, however, showed the power and accuracy of Curran's serve. She won the tie-break comfortably; the reigning champion was not going to be ruffled.
O'Neill was entitled to a major share of the plaudits for her positive approach and threatening challenge behind the 6-3 7-6 score.
Nick Malone, of Greystones, seeded number two, won the boys under-18 title by beating top seed David Mullins.
Mullins' bid collapsed so alarmingly that he won only one further game after taking the first set 6-3. Malone was the more consistent off the ground, got better angles and became more attuned to what was happening once the first set was out of the way.
It would have been a lot more interesting had Mull ins been as defiant in the second and third sets as he was in the final game of the match. But he wasn't and Malone's more persistent game blossomed into a 3-6 6-1 6-0 victory.
