Niland takes a big scalp

Ireland's tennis team boss Peter Wright chose the best court to run the rule over potential Davis Cup material as Conor Niland and Stephen Nugent battled it out in a tense third round match in the Irish Open Indoor Tennis Championship at Riverview last night.

Peter Clarke, the top seed, later struggled to impress with an injured wrist against an obstinate James Colhoun on the same court as the pace hotted up.

Clarke just survived in a final set, 6-2, and will see a physio this morning before deciding if he will continue in the tournament. "He gave me a tough match," said Clarke of his opponent.

While Wright took copious notes Niland came from behind to score a notable victory in a match that provided well executed points between two players who know each others form inside out.

The head-to-head began to tilt in Niland's favour when Nugent's rate of error started to increase after he had taken the first set 62. Nugent, a full-timer, looked the winner early on but Niland, a final year pupil at Millfield school in the UK, warmed to the competitive nature of the struggle and fought his way back into contention.

The Limerick-man levelled at a set all and broke serve at the outset of the final set before consolidating his position with a further break in the third for 3-0. Nugent's serve had become brittle and Niland's eye sharper to get in solid returns. The match lasted well over two hours and Wright had a lot to jot down before it ended in victory for Niland 2-6 6-2 6-4.

Niland can be satisfied that the match gave him excellent preparation for his quarter-final clash with heavy-serving Sean Cooper.

Cooper was in good form when dismissing Derek Fluskey for the loss of three second set games.

Meanwhile, Scott Barron, seeded two, and Owen Casey (three) cruised by the challenges presented by Stephen Taylor and Liam Cassidy respectively. David Mullins was also seen to good effect, only dropping a game to Robbie Sinclair.