Niland makes breakthrough win

Tennis: Limerick’s Conor Niland came from a set down to defeat Brazil’s Thiago Alves in a marathon final of the ATP Challenger Israel Open this afternoon.

Niland picked up the winner’s cheque for €11,000 after seeing off the fourth seed 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 in a match lasting three hours and eight minutes.

The win will move the Davis Cup star, unseeded coming into the tournament, back ahead of Louk Sorensen as Irish number one and more importantly propels him into the top 200 of the ATP rankings.