Newry Tennis Club

MENS SINGLES

Defending champ Shane McAteer won his third successive Newry Closed title and all by the age of just 20. In the final he beat Warrenpoint club coach Rory Mcgeown 63 62 for the third year in a row. Both men had much tougher semis with Shane beating Tim Smith in so doing losing his first set in this event for the first time in 3 years since he met the same guy in 2016. This time in a classic first set Tim dominated with his massive forehand whilst Shane produced a Boris Becker type stop volley throwing himself at the ball at 4-5 15-30 which at the time helped him break back but he was broken again to lose 75. From there Shane took charge with his all court coverage and lost just two more games as Tim began to cramp. Rory also had a battle royal in his semi and it came down to a third set tiebreak against the much improved Andrew Byrne who is in the best form of his life and is becoming a contender. Rory used his classical topspin and all out attacking tennis to win in the end.  But overall Shane is still the man to beat in Newry and has won 8 Closed titles including doubles in just 3 years.

MENS DOUBLES

It was a popular result in the Men’s Doubles as Malachy McAteer Junior won his first ever main draw Newry title as he mentored the 16 year old Daniel Boyle to an impressive team performance. Thus Daniel became one of the youngest ever winners of this title. They beat the multiple winner Tim Smith who was playing alongside Garreth Keenan in his first ever final. The result was a topsy turvy affair with Mal and Daniel settling better before going off the boil with a bagel second set before composing themselves for a third set revival and winning 61 06 62.

WOMENS DOUBLES

There was a novel new format for this event as each match was played in a 11 game scenario, with a tiebreak played after 10 games no matter what. This made for an exciting tournament with the result dependent on the last match. The winners were both women taking their first ever Newry Closed WD titles as Dorothy Blair and Irene McKnight produced the most consistent tennis and attacking winners in what was a very windy April day.

MIXED DOUBLES

Irene Mcknight had a tremendous fortnight as she completed the double by adding the Mixed title a day after she won the Women’s Doubles. Playing alongside Shane McAteer who won his third successive Newry Closed Mixed title, meaning he has never lost in this event having won the last two years with Eve Campbell. And who did they beat in the final? Well it was twice champ Eve who had gelled well with Brian O’Hare throughout the tournament and you could see enjoyed their tennis.

MENS PLATE

It was sibling rivalry all the way as Camlough man James O’Hare won his first Newry event beating his brother Brian in what was a war of attrition as they played close to three hours with the attacking netplay of James eventually winning against the heavy topspin of Brian. It was still a great tourney for Brian as he reached 3 finals in all and went onto win the Mens Doubles Plate.

PIC N MIX PLATE

Malachy Junior teamed up with Marie Pearse for an impressive win over Michael McKnight and Gary Smith. Marie was runner up in 2016 but went one better this year.

RESULTS MENS SINGLES Shane McAteer bt Rory McGeown 63 62 MENS DOUBLES Malachy McAteer Junior & Daniel Boyle bt Tim Smith & Garreth Keenan 61 06 62 WOMENS DOUBLES Dorothy Blair & Irene McKnight. MIXED DOUBLES Shane McAteer & Irene McKnight bt Brian O’Hare & Eve Campbell 76 64, MENS PLATE James O’Hare bt Brian O’Hare 75 46 75 MENS DOUBLES PLATE Nigel Bingham & Brian O’Hare bt  Malachy McAteer Snr & John Jones 64 46 63 PIC N MIX Malachy McAteer Junior & Marie Pearse bt Gary Smith & Michael McKnight 63 63

Photos

Mens Singles winner Shane McAteer with Men's Plate winner James O'Hare

Womens Doubles competitors from l to r, Eve Campbell, Marie Pearse, Lynne Dalzell, Derval Campbell, Irene McKnight, Dorothy Blair

Men's Doubles winners Malachy McAteer Jnr and Daniel Boyle

Men's Doubles finalists Mal McAteer Jnr, Daniel Boyle, Garreth Keenan, Tim Smith

Mixed Doubles winners Shane McAteer and Irene McKnight

Boys Junior final Daniel Boyle bt Matthew Severyn. 

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