Tennis:Ireland's Conor Niland came unstuck at the first hurdle after narrowly losing to veteran American Kevin Kim in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia.
There had been high hopes for Niland, who is ranked 130 in the world compared to Kim at 262nd. However the 32-year-old used all his experience to come through a nail-biting match to win 7-6, 7-6.
To lose both sets on a tie-break (5-7, 6-8) was equally difficult for Niland to take, especially when he had a chance to win the opening set.
“It’s unfortunate but I had my chances, especially in the opening set,” said Niland, who has been on a busy schedule to China before making his way to Australia.
“We all play this game to compete in the grand slam events. For me I need to get into the top 100 to guarantee my place in the main draw at these top events.”
Niland has been carrying a niggling hip injury and while on the road in recent weeks he has been receiving medical treatment and physio.
The 29-year-old, who won two Challenger titles in Israel and Austria in 2010, is due back to Ireland to recharge the batteries before he returns to action in Europe again.
Niland was flying the Irish flag solo in Melbourne this year when 12 months ago he and Irish team mate Louk Sorensen captured the imagination.
Niland, then 285th in the ATP rankings, won two of his qualifying matches before falling at the final hurdle against Brazil’s Ricardo Hocevar, while Sorensen won through to the main draw after winning his three qualifying matches.
Sorensen went on to defeat Korea’s Yen-Hsun Lu in four sets in the first round proper before losing in three sets to American John Isner, who was then ranked inside the top 30 and is now 20th in the world.
Sorensen missed out this year due to an ongoing hamstring injury but is hopeful of returning to action at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Bergamo, Italy the first week in February.
With one eye on the Davis Cup, Tennis Ireland remain “very hopeful” the country’s top two players will be available for the match against Luxembourg in March. The match will take place in Dublin and is expected to be played at the Fitzwilliam Tennis Club with the venue to be confirmed in the coming days.
At present Tennis Ireland, in conjunction with Fitzwilliam, are considering altering one of the court’s surfaces to suit the Irish players better. Ideally the court would be slower to replicate surface conditions the likes of Niland and Sorensen are used to when competing on Tour.
Such an investment could make sense for if Ireland were to win against Luxembourg, they could take on Britain in the next round in July if they win through against Tunisia. This would be a guaranteed home fixture for Ireland with the real possibility of world number five Andy Murray lining out for Britain.