Men's Irish Open Tennis Championships
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Men’s Irish Open Tennis Championships 2010 Saturday 17th July - Saturday 24th July $15.000 International Tennis Federation Futures Event A5 ADVERT TENNIS 22/06/2010 09:30 Page 1 Tennis Ireland would like to wish our Academy members, James McGee, Colin O'Brien, Barry King, James Cluskey, Tristan Farron Mahon, Roman Grogan, Daniel Glancy, Sam Barry, Ciaran Fitzgerald, Lazare Kukhalashvili and all the Irish players the best of luck in the Green Property Irish Men's Open Tennis Championships. supporting sponsors ® Fitzwilliam LTC acknowledge the support of our sponsor and supporting sponsors 3 Message from the FLTC President It’s a pleasure for me to welcome the players, visitors and members to the 2010 Men’s Irish Open Tennis Championships. I am delighted that Fitzwilliam LTC is hosting the event again this year, 131 years since these historic championships were first held in Fitzwilliam Square. This is a $15000 International Tennis Federation “Futures” event providing “home” players a valuable opportunity to gain world-ranking points while playing on our own courts. We are very pleased to have new main sponsors, Green Property Ltd, for these champion- ships and thank them for their generous support. We also acknowledge with thanks, and bring to your attention in this programme, our members and friends whose companies are acting as support sponsors. Our thanks are also due to the tournament organising committee led by Garbhán Ó’Nualláin, the tournament referee Aileen Rogan of Tennis Ireland, and our dedicated Club staff under General Manager Terry Jermyn. We can look forward to a very enjoyable week’s tennis - come along and support the players as often as you can during the week. Robin Gibney, President FLTC Message from the President of Tennis Ireland As President of Tennis Ireland it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Green Property Men’s Irish Open Tennis Championships. We are delighted that Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club is hosting this prestigious event on the hallowed courts in Appian Way. Fitzwilliam has an association with the Men’s Irish Open that runs back as far as 1879 and is one of the oldest tennis events in the world. Following on from Davis Cup, it guarantees that July will be a great month for Irish tennis fans, giving them the opportunity to see our players in action on home soil. To date, 2010 has been one of the most successful years in recent history for our senior and junior players. Many, in both singles and doubles at senior and junior levels have, through their continued success, gained access to many major tournaments across the globe. To our players we wish them every success both in this tournament and for the rest of the year as they leave at the end of this event to travel to other tournaments overseas. I would like to thank our Sponsors, Green Property, the Referee Michel Williams, the Tournament Director Aileen Rogan, the Chair umpires, Irish Tennis Umpires Association and the ball kids for their involvement in this tourna- ment in what promises to be a great week of tennis. Letty Lucas, President 4 ???? Fyffes Check 150x105 04/09/2006 14:29 Page 1 Where do Where do youyou checkcheck aa bananabanana forfor quality? Fyffe timesFyffe times better better than than your averageyour average banana banana 5 Message from Green Property CEO Green Property is delighted to have been given the opportunity to sponsor the 2010 Men’s Irish Open Tennis Tournament. The competition has become, in recent times, a major part of the tennis year in Ireland and is an opportunity for both young and experienced players, from Ireland and elsewhere, to make their mark. Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club is the ideal Dublin venue for the occasion and is a fine host. We hope that all involved, both players and spectators enjoy the matches and may the best man win! Stephen Vernon, Chairman History of the Event The Championship is the second oldest in the world following the inaugural All-England Championship in 1877. Fitzwilliam followed two years later and has the distinction of being the first club to stage championships embrac- ing all disciplines, Mens and Ladies Singles, Mens and Ladies Doubles and Mixed Doubles, in 1879. This year the event reverts to a men only Championship and is designated as an ITF Men’s Circuit Futures Tour- nament. This is the entry level of professional tournaments enabling players to eventually reach the higher level tournaments on the ATP World Tour. Futures tournaments are single week tournaments that offer either $10,000 or $15,000 each in prize money. In general the ITF Men’s Circuit offers over 400 weeks of tennis which take place in over 60 different countries each year. Traditionally the Irish Open Tournament was held after Wimbledon and great champions from the past including Neale Fraser, Budge Patty, Tom Okker, Tony Roche and the great Rod Laver appear on the Irish Open Men’s Singles Trophy. More recent competitors include Janko Tipsarevic, currently ranked 47 in the world and John Isner who recently competed in the longest tennis match in history. This year, the President and the Organising Committee are delighted to welcome new sponsor in the form of Green Property. 6 ...who offers an unseeded champion for every club... TigerTurf: Advantage Unleashing Possibilities UK manufacturers of synthetic turf +44 (0) 1299 253966 [email protected] www.tigerturf.co.uk Exclusive Tennis Partners Tennis Court Construction Ireland T: 00353 18024740 E: [email protected] 7 SCHEDULE OF DAILY/EVENING PLAY DAY DATE PLAY Saturday and Sunday 17th and 18th July 2010 Qualifiers Monday to Friday 19th to 23rd July 2010 Tournament Friday evening 23rd July 2010 Doubles Final Saturday 24th July 2010 Singles Final The times above could be subject to change at the Referees discretion and weather conditions. ATP WORLD TOUR – SINGLES RANKING – IRISH PLAYERS – AS AT 5TH JULY 2010 162 – Niland, Conor 238 – Sorensen, Louk 508 – McGee, James 644 – O’Brien, Colin 716 – King, Barry 967 – Glancy, Daniel 1120 – Farron–Mahon, Tristan 1614 – Cluskey, James ATP WORLD TOUR – DOUBLES RANKING – IRISH PLAYERS – AS AT 5TH JULY 2010 358 – O’Brien, Colin 448 – King, Barry 497 – McGee, James 556 – Farron–Mahon, Tristan 618 – McCluskey, James 777 - Niland, Conor 827 - Sorensen, Louk 1151 – Glancy, Daniel 8 the ultimate in accounting and payroll solutions big red book... ...for businesses with balls. Ease of Use think Simplicity Feature-Rich Powerful Functionality easy to use accounting and payroll solutions from big red book accounting, payroll, stock and CRM software solutions for small to medium businesses tel: 1890 334 555 e-mail: [email protected] www.bigredbook.com 9 Players Since the start of the Open era and especially over the last number of years we have wit- nessed unprecedented success for Irish men’s tennis. From Grand Slam appearances at senior and junior level to victories on the Challenger and Futures tour, Irish tennis players have earned the respect they deserve on the professional tennis circuit. Anybody who plays tennis competitively knows how brutal the professional circuit can be and each of our players should be very proud of their achievements to-date. We sat down with our top players to see what makes them tick and their expectations for the future. Conor Niland Louk Sorensen James McGee Barry King Colin O’Brien Daniel Glancy Tristan Farron-Mahon Sam Barry James Cluskey John Morrissey Ciarán Fitzgerald 10 DOLMEN TRUST AND FOCUS... WORKING FOR YOU, WORKING WITH YOU Dublin +353 (0)1 633 3800 Cork +353 (0)21 422 2122 Limerick +353 (0)61 436 500 www.dolmenstockbrokers.ie Dolmen Stockbrokers is regulated by the Financial Regulator. Conor Niland Louk Sorensen Recent Highlights Recent Highlights Conor is enjoying his Louk Sorensen had strongest 12-months on a great start to 2010 the tour achieving his qualifying for the Aus- highest world ranking of tralian Open in Janu- 165. Conor’s highlights ary reaching the second this year include winning round losing to world a $100,000 challenger number 28 John Isner in event at the Israel Open, three closely contested qualifying for his first ATP sets. As a result of his Tour event in Houston excellent performance and an outstanding performance for Ireland in the Louk reached a career high ranking of 213. Unfor- Davis Cup against Turkey earlier this year. tunately injury has plagued Louk over the last num- ber of months and we look forward to his return, At what age did you start playing tennis? hopefully for Ireland’s crucial Davis Cup tie against I always had a racket in my hand Lithuania. Did you go to college or straight on the tour? At what age did you start playing tennis? I took a year off after school and played fulltime, and I started playing tennis at 3 then went to Berkeley for 4 years Did you go to college or straight on the tour? What tennis racket do you use? I went straight on the tour Babolat, Pure Storm Tour. What tennis racket do you use? Irish tennis player that has most influenced you? Prince Ozone My sister Gina and Owen Casey. They were both very consistent and great competitors. Irish tennis player that has most influenced you? Sean and Kevin Sorensen What are your pre-match rituals? 30 minute warm up, some stretching, and always What are your pre-match rituals? have a new grip and fresh string. Listening to music and preparing my rackets What do you spend your time doing in the evenings What do you spend your time doing in the during tournaments? evenings during tournaments? You have to conserve energy, so usually dinner and Reading and surfing the web relax in the hotel.