TENNIS Irish Indoors: After regaining the National Indoor championship title for the sixth time at Riverview on New Year's Eve, Dubliner Yvonne Doyle faces a different kind of battle - a difficult decision - while on holidays in Donegal.

Doyle's defeat of second-seeded Welsh player Rebecca Llewellyn was so well contrived over almost two hours that the urge to make a return to the professional circuit from which she recently retired will be difficult to resist.

The 30-year-old Castleknock player may well be lured back on to the circuit for a couple of years on foot of a victory based on resilience and mature play. A set down and 2-4 adrift in the second set did not deter Doyle from launching her winning bid.

Ultimately, Llewellyn could not cope with Doyle's verve and imagination in the closing stages. She was not without a dying kick and forced the Dubliner to serve twice for the match.

Eoin Heavey, despite winning a roller-coaster first-set, 20-point tie-breaker, succumbed to the more experienced play of top seed Matthew Smith 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 6-2, in the men's decider. Such a lengthy tie-break looked unlikely after Heavey took a 6-1 lead. He also served to love for the first game of the final set. "For the first time in the match I thought he was brittle in the second set when I broke him for 5-4," said Smith.

Smith closed down the set with a clean ace. He was helped when Heavey failed to hold his serves in the fifth and seventh games of the final set. Aces and inch-perfect lobs by the English man drained the Dubliner's confidence.

Heavey is justified in believing he is capable of better and can expect a call-up to the Davis Cup team for the qualifiers this summer.