Robert Collins, the number four seed, was forced to summon his best resources to fend off the challenge of unseeded Feargal McDonough in the second round of the Irish Open indoor tennis championship at Riverview last night.

McDonough looked to be on his way to causing the upset of the championship when going a set and a break up, but he was not quite able to sustain the effort and eventually had to succumb, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, to a less than match fit Collins. The match took over two hours and although the pressures of battling against McDonough eased in the final set, Collins was glad to have survived his doughty challenge.

"I broke him to love in the opening game of the final set and after that I got the impression that he was ready to give up the hunt," said Collins.

Collins has another injury problem on top of the shoulder damage that kept him out of action for over a year. "I banged my knee off a patio door at home and had ice on it for most of the day," he said. He hopes it will clear up for his third-round match against Irish number one junior Stephen Nugent.

Other fancied players had their anxious moments last night, not least Davis Cup player John Doran who found himself in a second-set tie-break against Fiachra Lennon. David O'Connell had it tougher than expected against Seamus O Caitluin. O'Connell finally beat his talented opponent in a second-set tie-breaker.