Bothwell claims Open title

CO DOWN’s Peter Bothwell gave the home crowd something to celebrate at the Carrickmines Club yesterday when claiming the men’s singles title in the Irish Open.

Bothwell unleashed his impressive forehand against Britain’s Ryan James Storrie to triumph 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

Bothwell, the No 7 seed, had to dig deep, storming back from losing the first set to come back against his No 2-seeded opponent in a two-hour and four-minute match.

Having levelled at one set all, Bothwell, who is the Irish singles No 2 and whose last singles final appearance had been in a Futures event in Spain in 2016, looked the more likely winner throughout the final.

He displayed more aggression and confidence than Storrie, who made his mark earlier in the competition by dumping out the top seed in the first round of this tournament.

The 22-year-old Hillsborough man had to save three break points before taking a 2-1 lead, and he failed to convert two break points in the next game, allowing Storrie to level at 2-2.

Two games later, the two were still level, at 3-3, but after holding to 15 to move 4-3 in front, Bothwell broke for 5-3 on his second break point.

On the cusp of victory, the home player was pulled back to 30-30 in the ninth game, but then an imperious serve-and-volley winner and a forced backhand error by Storrie guaranteed success for Bothwell.

In the women’s Open final, top seed Emily Appleton, who had ousted Ireland’s Julie Byrne, 6-4, 6-3, in Saturday’s semi-finals, overcame unseeded fellow Briton Sasha Hill 6-4, 6-3 yesterday.