Yvonne Doyle and Karen Nugent came through their comeback attempts in pursuit of the singles title at the Irish Open indoor tennis championships at Riverview yesterday with flying colours. Neither of the talented Dubliners lost a set in their third-round matches in the Pamela Scott-sponsored event. Doyle, the number three seed, has been sidelined with a leg injury for almost two years. Her dismissal of the tenacious Dearbhla Kelly 6-3 6-0 was as encouraging as she could have wished. Her ability from the back of the court is as notable as ever.
Nugent has been battling with illness, but her clearcut win over Louise Carmody suggests that she has a sound base on which to reassemble her game. Top seed Gina Niland also went through to the quarter-finals.
Stephen Taylor's challenge in the men's singles continued to roll, with victory over Stewart Doyle. This was a particularly competitive match, but Taylor, having won the first-set tie-break to two, grew in confidence for an energy-sapping 7-6 6-3 win. Young challengers Conor Niland, Stephen Nugent and James Colhoun kept their chances alive with convincing wins.
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