There was considerable evidence at Fitzwilliam yesterday that the percentage game has gone over the heads of the under-18s doing battle for the Dunlops Irish Open championship titles.
Emphasis was very much on weight of shot as the number two seed, Stephen Taylor, claimed a third round place at the expense of Donal Glennon. Taylor got through 7-5 6-3 as did his younger brother Conor, a 6-2 6-4 winner over Tom McGrath.
Top seed Stephen Nugent stumbled against Alex Farron-Mahon in the first set but the Malahide youth did well to regain his composure and pocket the second 6-2.
Alan Doran's bid against number six seed Conor Niland of Limerick ended abruptly in the first set when forced to retire feeling unwell.
Sean O'Connor of Bettystown went closest to causing a big surprise in a marathon against number two seed Colin O'Brien in the junior singles. This second round tie went to a 14th game of a nail-biting final set. O'Brien was relieved to weather the storm 6-4 4-6 8-6.
