The FBD Men’s Irish Open, Ireland’s only professional tennis event, begins today at Fitzwilliam LTC and will run all week, with the finals taking place on Saturday.
There is plenty of Irish involvement along with an excellent entry of international players.
Limerick’s Sam Barry, the tournament’s second seed and a semi-finalist last year, is expected to lead the Irish charge.
Barry will also team up with fellow Davis Cup player David O’Hare as they look to secure a first title together on home soil.
A number of up-and-coming Irish players will also be looking to make their mark during the week, including County Down’s Peter Bothwell, who has already amassed world ranking points in Portugal, Spain, Greece, Tunisia and Zimbabwe this year.
The week also sees burgeoning talent Simon Carr making his professional debut. Carr’s father Tommy won an All-Ireland SFC title with Dublin as a player before managing the Dubs, Roscommon and Cavan.
An event steeped in history, the Irish Open is the second oldest event in world tennis after Wimbledon. It was first played in 1879, two years after the inaugural Wimbledon tournament, and has a long association with Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. Previous winners include William Renshaw, Rod Laver, Tony Roche and Ireland’s own James McGee, who captured his first professional title at the event in 2011.
The tournament is a $15K Futures event on the ITF circuit and awards both prize money and world ranking points in the singles and doubles events.
Play begins at 10am each morning and admission is free.
