Top-ranked Dane thwarts Ireland

Kristan Pless, a 20-year-old with a world ranking of 126 and rising, produced what Ireland's Davis Cup team had been fearing when he clinched victory for Denmark by beating John Doran in yesterday's reverse singles tie at Riverview.

Doran dropped the first two sets, but with his booming serves, depth, variation and competitive instincts he was never going to give in easily. He won the third, before finally succumbing 7-5 6-3 1-6 6-4 after a match which lasted two and a half hours.

Pless claimed that he lost his focus in the third set, but the reality had more to do with Doran's pumped-up performance at this juncture which gave him breaks of serve in the fourth and sixth games for a 5-1 advantage.

The crowd were then treated to a remarkable spectacle as Pless showed no stomach for any further competitive involvement in the set. Instead, he became little more than a spectator as the Irishman pounded down three aces and a service winner.

The Dane was only prepared to look on and, afterwards explained: "I let the seventh game for the set go. I was anxious to serve first in the fourth set."

He admitted he knew he had to up the tempo in the fourth set. "I thought perhaps I was mentally stronger on the big points," said the Danish prospect voted the world's number one junior two seasons ago.

Mistakes, perhaps born of mental fragility, crept into Doran's game in that fourth set as the pressure was applied with ruthless efficiency. Pless, who was outscored 16-5 on aces, dropped only one point in his first two service games.

There was no signs of Doran throwing in the towel, and the Danish camp vigorously disputed close line calls. The vital break of serve came in the eighth game when Doran sent the second of three break points into the tramlines for a 3-5 deficit.

Peter Clarke beat Matt Gottlieb 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 in the subsequent dead rubber, leaving the official match result 3-2 in favour of the Danes.

Saturday's doubles had gone to a final set and saw Denmark forge a 2-1 advantage in what proved a tense three-hour and 10-minute marathon of fluctuating fortunes and tirelessly energetic endeavour.

Owen Casey and Doran showed, from the outset, that they were capable of upsetting the odds after breezing through 6-2 in a brief 24-minute first set.

Pless had surprisingly been the weakest of all four players in that opening set but his partner Jonathan Printzlau was made of stern stuff and the Danes recovered to level at 1-1 with Pless now beginning to assert a big influence.

The following two sets were exchanged but by this time it was apparent that the Irish challenge could not afford concessions on serve by Casey.