John Doran, Ireland's lone surviving contender in the ITF Futures tennis event, sponsored by Pamela Scott, at Riverview yesterday, went down in straight sets to Australian Leigh Holland in 77 minutes.
Holland's more astute strategy and general application often belied his world ranking of 462. Trouble beckoned early for Doran when Holland broke three times to pocket the first set 6-1 in 36 minutes.
The second set saw Holland adopt a less purposeful game and Doran began to win more points. But too often did the net seem too high and the court dimensions too short and narrow for the Irishman. This was very much the case in the fifth game of the second set when Doran virtually presented Holland with the crucial break on a plate.
Singles - Quarter-finals: A Hadad (Isr) bt D Bracciali (Ita) 7-5 7-6, J Erich (Isr) bt J Crabb (Aus) 6-4 3-6 6-2, L Holland (Aus) bt J Doran 6-1 6-4 (Ire), N Welgreen (Isr) bt A Ram (Isr) 7-6 6-2.
Doubles - Quarter-finals: Doran and O Casey bt Erlich and Hadad 3-6 6-1 6-4, D Melo and A Prieto (Bra) bt Crabbe and P Kilderry (Aus) 4-6 6-4 7-6, Bracciali and I Gaudi (Ita) bt J Sekulov (Aus) and S Iwabuchi (Jpn) 6-4 1-6 6-1, D Roberts (Aus) and N Welgreen (Isr) bt D Mullins and S Cooper 6-1 6-2.
Golf: Athlone's Colm Moriarty, who reached the fourth round of the British Amateur at Royal Co Down last week, is in the Ireland Youth team to play Scotland at Cork GC on June 23th. This will be followed by the 72-hole Irish Youths Open Championship on June 24th and 25th, when the Scottish players will compete.
In a deal which has wide implications for youths golf, the championship is being sponsored by Canon. As a consequence, the two leading Irish players at Little Island will qualify for the final of the Canon European Under-21 Championship at Almenara Hotel-Golf, Sotogrande, on October 2nd and 3rd.
The Irish team is: Michael Hoey (Shandon Park), David Jones (City of Derry), Justin Kehoe (UCD/Birr), Graeme McDowell (Rathmore), Michael McGeady (City of Derry), Colm Moriarty (Athlone).
The Scottish team is: Mark Loftus, Steven O'Hara, Chris Campbell, Mark Donaldson, Lee Rhind, Fraser McLoughlin.
Motor Sport: Ex-Formula One star Martin Brundle smashed the lap record when setting the fastest time in first qualifying for this weekend's Le Mans 24-Hour Race.
Brundle spearheaded a Toyota one-two as he broke through the three-and-a-half minute barrier.
Brundle, who will bid to repeat his Le Mans victory of 1990, was just under a second faster than Thierry Boutsen of Belgium, also driving a Toyota GT One.
Rugby: Irish flanker Ken O'Connell has signed for French First Division side CA Perigueux from rivals Castres in a bid to re-ignite his international career.
The 30-year-old, who was not selected for the tour to Australia, had failed to gain a regular firstteam place in the Castres side.
