OWEN CASEY, Ireland's number one tennis player, reached the semi finals of the doubles in the Schweppes $25,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Malta yesterday.

Partnering George Blumauer of Austria, Casey saw his ATP world doubles ranking improve considerably as a result of a 6-0 6-3 win over the Italian pairing of Tielman and Rascon.

It took Casey and partner only 50 minutes to polish off the Italian challenge and the Irishman is confident of reaching tomorrow's final. "We are playing with fire and enthusiasm, but it's a pity about the singles," he said. Casey will miss the deadline for signing on for the singles in Uzbekistan because heavy rain caused a backlog to develop in the Maltese tournament.