SURPRISINGLY, there are still no indoor tennis facilities at Oxford University. It sounds like a piece of useless information but it puts first-year student Ross Niland from Limerick at a disadvantage and may well have been a contributory factor to his protracted struggle with David O'Connell in the Pamela Scott sponsored Irish Open indoor championships at Riverview yesterday.

Niland, the number four seed, had not anticipated a three-hour battle with the junior aspirant from Clontarf. In fact he was fortunate to survive after some bumpy spells alleviated by O'Connell's inexperience.

Left hander Niland faced a 1-4 deficit in the second set after losing the first but O'Connell's nerve gave way, not for the first time, when serving immediately after the break was made.

Niland felt he should have been more positive and won earlier. "I was not seeing the ball and my returns were unsatisfactory," he explained, after a 5-7 6-3 7-5 stumbling win.

Owen Casey and Robert Collins set off in confident vein on separate treks towards an anticipated final meeting on Saturday.

Collins, the number two seed admitted to early nerves against Stephen Watters. "I couldn't get onto his serve early on." Collins' forecourt game proved the defining factor.

Top women's seed, Yvonne Doyle, a facile winner, confirmed that she will go out on the professional circuit on completing her fourth year on scholarship at San Diego University next summer.