TENNIS: Peter Clarke lost his first set of the tournament in the final of the Danone Irish Indoor Championships at Riverview on Wednesday but he was the most convincing of winners and, not for the first time, the talented unseeded Kevin Sorensen felt the pinch when the pace accelerated.
While the well-contested rallies rescued the men's final from being a complete disappointment, the women's decider - in which the experienced Karen Nugent prevailed over a player 11 years her junior, Rachel Dillon (16) - proved a huge anti-climax.
Sorensen looked well placed after winning the first set, the only break coming in the seventh game.
Thereafter the Stuttgart-born Sorensen, who only has to complete the declaration forms to become eligible to play Davis Cup for Ireland in the spring, struggled to cope with the power of Clarke's serve and the high ball to his back hand.
Unforced errors crept into Sorensen's game and Clarke's more assured game saw him win a morale-boosting 10 successive games from 2-1 in the second set to the finish. After an hour and a quarter Clarke closed out the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.
"I lost the first set mainly because I had been used to easy matches throughout the week and I wasn't ready at the beginning," said Clarke. "I began to concentrate better for the second set and soon discovered his weaknesses."
Sorensen, suitably pleased with reaching the final, dismissed winning the first set as any big deal. "It was only the first set. He (Clarke) played better after that and went for shots that he would not attempt before."
Clarke's objective this season is to get into the world top 100 and he begins that campaign in Futures events next week in Florida and then Dallas.
Number six seed Rachel Dillon could likewise be pleased with her week but her display in the final was not encouraging as Nugent triumphed 6-2, 6-2.
"She had no variation and never did anything to scare me," said Nugent after the 53-minute match.
Dillon can return to her base in France assured the Fed Cup selectors will be keeping her in mind.
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