Barry King, a Gonzaga College student, earned full marks as the true champion of the junior's cause in the David Lloyd Irish Open Indoor Tennis championships at Riverview yesterday.
King's task was quite daunting but he proceeded to play with a maturity well beyond his years to defeat Ross Niland 6-2 7-6 in an hour and a half battle that saw Niland struggle to find consistency until it was too late.
"He's certainly a good player," said Niland. "I was glad it didn't go into a final set for that would have been a dog fight," admitted the 16-year-old victor.
King, never afraid to take the risks, was a set and 5-2 up in the second when Niland's experience began to make an impact. The Limerick man, facing serve to stay in the match, broke King's nervous serve in the ninth game for 4-5 and held to level the set.
Service games were held to make way for a tension-filled tie-breaker that King won 7-4. It was a match that the youngster does not regard as his best achievement. "Beating Nicky Malone in the summer was my best win so far," said the Rathfarnham youth. That victory over Malone becomes highly significant for they play each other this evening.
Malone only dropped one game to James McGee and number four seed Seβn Cooper was equally as merciless when dismissing teenager Adam Newell.
The biggest disappointment of the day came when Stephen Nugent, the number two seed, had to opt out due to flu.
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