Ireland's Jonathan Dolan and Sam Magee (pictured) were comfortable winners of the men's doubles at the 2013 Carlton Irish Future Series in Baldoyle – their first victory as a pair.
At no time were they in any trouble in their match against Slovenian pair of Kek Jamnik and Alen Roj. They quickly raced to a 6-1 lead in the opening set, with Dolan's jump shots and Magee all round court skills proving critical. At halfway, they were leading 11-4 and they consolidated that lead to win the set 21-12. They were even more dominant in the second set, winning 21-9 with Dolan's serve causing serious damage.
"We're happy with the tournament – we won all our matches in two sets and are now looking forward to the Bitburger Open in Germany which will be a big test for us,” said Magee.
Although Denmark's Louise Hansen and Louise Seiersen trailed 8-11 halfway through their women's doubles final against Rebekka Findlay and Caitlin Pringle of Scotland, they soon found their touch. They caught the Scots at 12-12 and then drew away to win the set 2-17 and then took the match when they won the second set 21-14.
Denmark's Kian Andersen proved a popular winner of the men's singles, with his team mates offering loud vocal support at crucial points of his match against Finland's Anton Kaisti. The Dane led all the way, winning the opening set 21-17 and then the second by a similar scoreline. That came only after Kaisti, who had earlier won the mixed doubles title, pulled back from 19-10 to 19-15 and then saved two match points.
France's Delphine Lansac recovered from a slow start to win the women's singles, beating third seed Laura Sarosi of Hungary in two close-fought sets. Sarosi picked up some good points midway through the second set but big hits and accurate play from Lansac ensured her a well-earned victory.
Although given a good workout by Jordan Corvee and Marie Batomene from France, top seeds Anton Kaisti and Jenny Nyström from Finland duly won the mixed doubles title. The French had taken the first set 22-20, but the Finns quickly evened the score and forced a third set. They continued to dominate helped by Kaisti's big hits. At halfway through, the French were still in touch, but the Finns pulled away and nailed down victory.
Carlton Irish Future Series finals at Baldoyle:
MS: Kian Andersen (DEN) bt Anton Kaisti (FIN) 21-17, 21-17
WS: Delphine Lansac (FRA) bt Laura Sarosi (HUN) 21-16, 21-17
WD: Hansen/Seiersen (DEN) bt Findlay/Pringle (SCO) 21-17, 21-14
MD: Sam Magee/Dolan (IRL) bt Jamnik/Roj (SLO) 21-12 ,21-9
XD: Kaisti/Nyström (FIN) bt Corvee/Batomene (FRA) 20-22, 21-17, 21-13
Click here for the full results of the 2013 Irish Future Series
Article and photo by Richard Vaughan.