The FBD Men's Irish Open began at Fitzwilliam LTC in Dublin today with mixed results for the Irish players in action.
Second seed Sam Barry from Limerick had a comfortable 6-2 6-1 victory over qualifier Howard Scott of Great Britain.
Barry’s impressive serving and powerful groundstrokes ensured he was always in control in an easy victory.
It was a day of contrasting fortunes for the Bothwell family from Belfast. Peter enjoyed a great 6-2 6-4 win over Bruce Strachan, making very few unforced errors against a player he had lost to last week in a tournament in England.
His younger brother Sam, who was a wildcard entry in the competition, lost to Tom Farquharson. The English player, who is seventh seed for the event, had too much power for the younger Bothwell, winning 6-3 6-1.
Birmingham-born Bjorn Thomson, who represents Ireland through his Limerick-born mother, recorded an impressive 6-4 7-5 victory against fellow qualifier Vincent Suillerot.
The 17-year-old, currently training at the famed IMG Academy in Florida, did much of the damage with his lethal forehand.
Marco Di Maro inflicted a 6-4 6-3 defeat on Rob Dudley from Dublin. Dudley, who reached the second round last year, made numerous unforced errors as he failed to get into his rhythm and allowed his Italian opponent to dictate the tempo of the match.
Osgar O'hOisin, the third Irish wildcard in the event, was beaten 6-1 6-4 by British Davis Cup player Dan Evans. The 18-year-old home hope was undone by nerves in the first set but but was far more compsed in the second set, impressing with his his powerful forehand and big serve.
Evans, who beat Kei Nishikori and Bernard Tomic at the US Open in 2013, is a hugely-talented player but has suffered from inconsistency and injuries.
Elsewhere, top seed Hugo Nys of France needed three sets to see off Stefan Merunka – ranked almost 1400 places below him – on a 6-0 4-6 6-1 scoreline, while the shock result of the day saw qualifier Lloyd Glasspool beat third seed Peter Kobelt 6-7 6-4 6-4.
