Fermanagh Open swings into action over at the Bawnacre

Around 120 players will be gracing the courts, with the event culminating on Finals day this Sunday, July 3.

Players are travelling from as far afield as Letterkenny, City of Derry, Bangor, Lisburn, Belfast, Sligo, Mullingar, Longford, Newcastle and Limavady as well as the regular support from clubs in Enniskillen, Omagh, Cavan and Butt Hall in Co. Donegal.

As usual, play will take place in Irvinestown in the grounds of the Bawnacre Centre. Longstanding member John Maguire is at the helm as Tournament Director with an able band of helpers.

The first day of play took place on a Saturday, giving an extra day’s play due to the large entry and to help with the scheduling.

A lot of the singles matches took place and some players have progressed to the Quarter Final stages.

There was an Omagh versus Enniskillen battle in the Grade 3 Men’s Singles, with an emphatic win for David Grainger from Omagh, who beat Adam Gannon, Enniskillen, 6/1 6/2.

David had a much tighter match in the Quarter Final when he narrowly won against Aaron Brady from Belfast Boat Club. The match went to three sets and he won a championship tiebreak, 6/7 6/4 10/7.

Local Irvinestown stalwart David Lowe was defeated by Cavan’s Ken McMillan 6/2 6/1 in the Grade 2 Men’s Singles.

However, he had a better result in the Grade 2 Men’s Doubles along with Andris Stebers from Enniskillen as they won 7/6 6/4 against Joel Baylon and Arhold Custodio from Letterkenny.

There was another Cavan win in the Grade 3 Men’s Singles for Joe Grimes, who beat Trevor Lucy from Irvinestown, 6/2 6/2.

Winning streak

Joe kept up his winning streak in the Grade 3 Men’s Doubles. Along with his partner, Matthias Winkler, they won against Joel Baylon and Arnold Custodio from Letterkenny, 2/6 7/6 12/10.

Summer weather had not arrived by Monday evening, when matches continued. This time, it was rainy and windy conditions for a lot of the matches.

First on court, back home for his holidays from university in Newcastle, was the talented Kyran Maguire from Irvinestown.

He is seeded number three in the Open Men’s Singles and had a good win against Declan McBride from Enniskillen, 6/0 6/1.

Also in the Open Men’s Singles, there was a win for John Slowey from Enniskillen against Colin Watterson Hilden, 6/1 6/1.

Another Irvinestown player, Steven Phair, won his match in the Grade 2 Men’s Singles, 6/3 7/6, from Frank Irvine from Enniskillen.

Unfortunately, it was a loss for local man Paul Hynes who was defeated by Martin Fryer from City of Derry who has been a frequent visitor to the tournament over the years.

The first Ladies match on court was Pamela Preston, Omagh, who won through against Lucy Monaghan from Enniskillen, 6/0 6/1, in the Grade 3 Ladies’ Singles.

There were more ladies in action in the Grade 3 Doubles with a great win for Wendy Eaton and Karen Johnston from Irvinestown against Omagh’s Bernie Doody and Karen Turner from Omagh.

In the Grade 3 Mixed Doubles event, there was a local clash of teams between Irvinestown and Omagh, with the latter team of Ita Bonner and David Grainger winning a close match against Wendy Eaton and Simon McCormack, and it took two tie breakers to win through, 7/6 7/6.

There was more local successes in the Doubles event with Pete Keogh, Steven Phair from Irvinestown winning 6/4 6/2 against City of Derry duo Ciaran Gillen and Eugene Moore in the Grade 2 Men’s Doubles.

One of the longest Doubles matches of the night saw Nick Finlay from Enniskillen and Cliff Worley from Omagh beat Enniskillen’s Aidan Corrigan and Niall Dolan in a long two-setter, which went to two tie breaks, 7/6 7/6.

The only Grade 2 Mixed Doubles played on Monday night saw the pairings of David McDowell, Irvinestown and Vanessa McBrien, Enniskillen defeat another experienced duo of Pete Keogh, Irvinestown and Sonja Hateboer, Enniskillen, 6/3 6/0.

Thanks

As usual, all players were well looked after by management and staff of the Bawnacre, so thanks to George Beacom and his team for organising refreshments during the event and ensuring the courts and pavilion were all ready for the influx of matches and players.

Play has continued all week with Finals Day this Sunday, which will see special guests including Greg O’Rawe, President of Ulster Branch Tennis Ireland; Councillor Barry McElduff, Chair, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council; and representatives of the sponsors, Flogas, Severfield and Mahon’s Hotel.

Open Mens Singles

Kyran Maguire, Irvinestown beat Declan McBride, Enniskillen 6/0 6/1

John Slowey, Enniskillen beat Colin Watterson, Hilden 6/1 6/1

Grade 2 Mens Singles

Ken McMillan, Cavan beat David Lowe, Irvinestown 6/2 6/1

Steven Phair, Irvinestown beat Frank Irvine, Enniskillen 6/3 7/6

Noel Creane, Donegal beat Rodger Firmin, Portadown 6/4 6/2

Martin Fryer, City of Derry beat Paul Hynes, Irvinestown 6/0 6/1

Grade 3 Mens Singles

Aaron Brady, Belfast Boat Club beat Luke Collins, Irvinestown 6/0 6/0

David Grainger, Omagh beat Adam Gannon, Enniskillen 6/1 6/2

Joe Grimes, Cavan beat Trevor Lucy, Irvinestown 6/2 6/2

Gary Curry, Omagh beat Matthias Winkler, Cavan 7/5 6/1

Tomas Navickas, Mullingar beat Cillian Deehan, Omagh 6/1 6/2

David Grainger, Omagh beat Aaron Brady, Belfast Boat Club 6/7 6/4 10/7

Simon McCormack, Irvinestown beat Nick Finlay, Enniskillen 6/4 6/2

Tomas Navickas, Mullingar beat Gary Curry, Omagh 6/3 6/7 10/5

Robert Young, Sligo beat Jonathan Irvine, Irvinestown 6/1 7/6

Conor McKeown, Omagh beat Andris Stebers, Ekn 6/0 6/2

Grade 3 Ladies Singles

Pamela Preston, Omagh beat Lucy Monaghan, Enniskillen 6/0 6/1

Grade 1 Mens Doubles

Matthew McGann, John Slowey, Enniskillen beat Stephen King, Cavehill, Colin Watterson, Hilden 6/4 6/2

Grade 2 Mens Doubles

David Lowe, Irv, Andris Stebers, Enniskillen beat Joel Baylon, Arnold Custodio, Letterkenny 7/6 6/4

Pete Keogh, Steven Phair, Irv beat Ciaran Gillen, Eugene Moore, City of Derry 6/4 6/2

Grade 2 Mixed Doubles

David McDowell, Irv, Vanessa McBrien, Enniskillen beat Pete Keogh Irv, Sonja Hateboer, Ekn 6/3 6/0

Grade 3 Mens Doubles

Joe Grimes, Matthias Winkler, Cavan beat Joel Baylon, Arnold Custodio, Letterkenny 2/6 7/6 12/10

Nick Finlay, Ekn, Cliff Worley, Omagh beat Aidan Corrigan, Niall Dolan, Ekn 7/6 7/6

Grade 3 Mixed Doubles

Ita Bonner, David Grainger, Omagh beat Wendy Eaton, Simon McCormack, Irv 7/6 7/6

Doreen Jones, Donegal, Conor McKeown, Omagh beat Janet McCleary, Andrew Magowan, Dungannon 6/2 6/2