NEW Zealand's Davis Cup player Alistair Hunt and Britain's Federation Cup squad member Samanta Smith were not overly gracious in their Leinster senior open tennis championship final victories at Templeogue on Saturday.
Both players pocketed £1,100 singles cheques and then tended to defend sub standard displays by claiming that the courts were oversanded.
"It was difficult to stand up. The court is uneven," said Smith after her unimpressive win over Lucie Ahl in which she lost the middle set to love.
Hunt also had reservations about the quality of the court. He was particularly conscious of a "slippery surface" throughout his easy victory over Danny Ward, ranked 26th in Britain.
"Maybe there was too much sand on them or something. I felt I had to be careful because he (Danny) was an awkward player to play. He moves you about all the time taking the pace off the ball, playing dinks and all sorts of shots".
Two breaks of serve in the first set and another in the 6th game of the second sufficed to give the heavy serving New Zealander the top prize he later won the doubles with Tom Spinks.
For some, the women's final mirrored the lowly state of the women's game in Britain. Unforced errors, and at times, a lack of conviction, especially by Smith, defracted from the final. Smith admitted to a lack of concentration but added that if anyone thought it was boring "that was their bad luck".
During the hour and a half match Smith sometimes showed that she has the technique and shots to produce a better game. She eventually rebuffed Ahl 7-5, 0-6 6-14.
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