Elsa O Riain of Cork yesterday scuppered the chance of a final between the Barnes sisters of Cambridge in the ITF K-Swiss world ranking junior tournament at Riverview.
O Riain, from the GAA stronghold of Kilcully, added to her recent ETA triumph in Greece by beating Alice Barnes 5-7 7-6 6-3 in a rain-interrupted semi-final. The two-hour slog was waged from the baseline and hinged on a second set tie-break that O'Riain won 72.
The wind and rain made conditions difficult, with O'Riain ending up on the deck twice, but the depth and direction of her shots were enough to swing a match in which both players presented gift points to their opponent.
Ruth Barnes contrived the upset of the tournament, first by taking top seed Julia Smith into a final set and then by dismantling the favourite's game with authority.
Tom Higgins could not refrain from unpalatable behaviour after defeat in his semi-final. Higgins bashed a ball high in the direction of Ranelagh, flung his racket and almost took a wastebin off its hinges to earn a warning following his defeat by Stephen Nugent.
Higgins can play a good game of tennis as well, as he showed by troubling top seed Nugent with devastating backhand shots and angled volleys at the net.
Nugent continued in his role as the player best able to grind down an opponent. Aided by two breaks of serve from 2-2 in the final set, he went on to win 7-5 6-7 6-2.
Unseeded Peter Marx of Germany went through to today's final with a convincing win, albeit in three sets, to earn a crack at Nugent.
Boys' singles - Semi-finals: S Nugent bt T Higgins (Brit) 7-5 6-7 (7-3) 6-2; P Marx (Ger) bt C Foley 6-1 2-6 6-2. Girls' singles - Semi- finals: R Barnes (Brit) bt J Smith (Brit) 2-6 6-4 61; E O Riain bt A Barnes (Brit) 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 6-3. Boys' doubles - Semi-finals: T Higgins and M Weaver (Brit) bt R Volkovitsky and R Wertheimer (Isr) 6-3 7-6; J Colhoun and S Nugent bt C Foley and S Taylor 6-3 3-6 6-4. Girls' doubles - Semi-finals: A Barnes and J Smith (Brit) bt H Broome and L Felek (Brit) 6-1 6-2; R Barnes and H Parker (Brit) bt A Hawkins and A Keothavong (Brit) 6-0 6-3.
Rod Laver, the only tennis player to win two Grand Slams, remains in a serious condition days after suffering a stroke which impaired his speech. Laver, who turns 60 on August 9th, is currently in the intensive care unit at the UCLA Medical Center where he is expected to remain for a week to 10 days. "He's still having some difficulty speaking. It may be just a hair better," said Dr Neil Martin, co-director of the hospital's stroke center.
