Stephen Nugent clinched his first victory in the Danone National Indoor Tennis Championships at Riverview with a hard fought two sets victory over Sean Cooper this afternoon. 21-year-old Nugent, from Malahide, produced a consistent performance to triumph against his 23-year-old opponent from Donnybrook to begin 2003 in perfect style.
Nugent broke serve twice in the first set to take it 6-3, and although Cooper rallied in the second, the younger of the two held on to take the set 7-5, to bring an end to a difficult year which has seen him struggle with injuries and confidence. Both players are members of the Irish Davis Cup Squad, who face Eygpt in the 2003 campaign at Dublin's Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in April.
Nugent hopes to use today's success as a springboard to further glory, and said afterwards: "I want to start climbing the ATP rankings. I don't know what number, but I certainly want to be making significant jumps over the coming year."
In the Ladies' final that followed, Castleknock's Yvonne Doyle was declared the winner after Cork's Elsa O'Riain retired with a torn stomach muscle in the first set, with Doyle leading 3-2. Doyle was relieved with the win afterwards, although she admitted she would have preferred to win the title in regulation time. She said: "In a way it's nice to have the title but I would have preferred to have been able to finish out the match. I'm happy enough though."
Filed by Shane Murray
