Sinead Lohan battled into the semi-finals of the AIG Irish Open Tennis Championships after a gruelling three-set match against Rosalie Van Der Hoek.

Van Der Hoek took a commanding 5-1 lead in the first set and eventually closed out the set 6-4.

Lohan, struggling with the left-hander's big serve and unorthodox style of play, could never really find her rhythm but slowly and methodically turned the tide.

She did play her best tennis by any means, but relied heavily on her mental toughness to pull her through, winning the next two sets 6-4 6-2.

Both Anna Bowtell and Peter Bothwell were deep into their quarter-final matches when the rain came down.

Bowtell lost the first set 3-6 but was up 5-2 in the second set and Bothwell was 4-3 down but on serve in the first set.

After about a three-hour rain delay they were back on court but their opponents seemed more prepared for the faster conditions.

Bowtell’s opponent, Emily Appleton, one of the top juniors in the world, wasted little time in coming back and forcing a tiebreak, which she won convincingly 7-1 to win the match.  

Bothwell lost his serve game at 3-4, and the big-serving Peter Kobelt from the USA took full advantage, serving out the first set.

The second set was a lot closer but again Kobelt’s serve was too much on fast courts. Bothwell managed to push him all the way to a tiebreak but could not find a solution on the return points, losing the break 7-3.

Simon Carr did not get on the court until 5.15pm, but seemed to be the better prepared of the two players as his French opponent, Remi Boutillier, spent a lot of time complaining about the conditions.

Carr took the first set 6-4, but Boutillier seemed to settle down and ran away with the second set 6-1.

Carr regrouped and showed a great deal of maturity playing the better tennis to win the third set 6-3.

He'll face 30-year-old Adrian Bossel of Switzerland next. Bossel is 736th in the world but has been as high as 262nd.

The last Irish player to go on court was the third seed Sam Barry. He played 19-year-old Ryan Storrie from Dorchester.

Barry lost the first set before storming back to win the second set 6-3, and closed out the third set 6-4 after a brief break due to showers.

IRISH RESULTS - quarter-finals

Simon Carr beat Remi Boutillier 6-4 1-6 6-3

Sam Barry beat Ryan Storrie 3-6 6-3 6-4

Peter Kobelt beat Peter Bothwell 6-3 7-6

Sinead Lohan beat Rosalie Van Der Hoek  4-6 6-4 6-2

Emily Appleton beat Anna Bowtell 6-3 7-6