Stoehr Fried By Fire-Fighter Hill

In only her second appearance on the WISPA World Tour, English qualifier Laura Hill scored the biggest scalp of her career when she crushed France's world No17 Isabelle Stoehr for the loss of just three points in the women's first round of the Cannon Kirk Homes Irish Open at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin.

Hill, a 30-year-old fire-fighter from Duffield in Derbyshire, despatched the second seed 9-0, 9-1, 9-2 in 31 minutes - a win made all the more remarkable following Stoehr's form this year, which has included two Tour titles from three final appearances.

The only qualifier to survive the women's first round, Hill goes on to meet New Zealand's fifth seed Jaclyn Hawkes - who caused one of two local casualties in the women's event by beating Sligo's Aisling Blake 9-3, 9-5, 6-9, 9-7.

Laura Mylotte, a 31-year-old qualifier from Ireland, put in a great display against Malaysia's sixth seed Tricia Chuah. After losing the first game, the Galway girl stormed back to take the second but her opponent edged out the next two games to win 9-4, 2-9, 9-7, 9-7 and proceed to the next round.

Meanwhile Madeline Perry leads Irish hopes in the women's event. The top seed from Banbridge made a strong start in her bid to win the title for the third time in a row when she beat New Zealand's Louise Crome 9-4, 9-0, 9-2.

The world No10 now meets England's No7 seed Rebecca Botwright for a place in the last four.

Irish No2 John Rooney almost caused a major upset in the men's PSA Tour event when he took on number two seed and world number 23 Alex Gough of Wales. In a tense 75-minute match, Rooney fought back from two games down to force the match into a fifth game - and went 5-2 up in the decider before a string of unforced errors saw the match slip from the Galway man's grasp as Gough won 11-7, 11-9, 3-11, 7-11, 11-7.

Rooney is back on the tour after a break away from the game through injury which has seen his ranking slip to number 323. The former world No52 will take great heart from this strong performance by proving he can still live with the top professionals.

Dubliner Derek Ryan also bowed out of the event. After losing the first game against England's No8 seed Stacey Ross, Ryan produced a stunning array of shots to take the second. The Englishman moved 37-year-old Ryan all over the court in the third and in the end proved too much for the eight times Irish Champion. Ryan fought to the end but his two qualifying matches eventually took their toll as he ran out of steam and Ross forged his 11-7, 5-11, 11-5, 11-3 victory.

The last remaining Irish male contender won through to the quarter finals with a five-game victory over US champion Julian Illingworth. Liam Kenny, the Irish number one, went two games in front but was made to work hard for the win and pushed all the way by his brave American opponent who had come through the qualifiers.

Following his 11-3, 11-4, 4-11, 10-11 (0-2), 11-3 win, fifth seed Kenny now plays Italy's number three seed Davide Bianchetti in the quarter finals.

Men's 1st round:
[1] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 11-3, 11-1, 11-6 (27m)
[8] Stacey Ross (ENG) bt [Q] Derek Ryan (IRL) 11-7, 5-11, 11-5, 11-3 (43m)
[3] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 6-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7 (64m)
[5] Liam Kenny (IRL) bt [Q] Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-3, 11-4, 4-11, 10-11 (0-2), 11-3 (70m)
[Q] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [7] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) 11-6, 11-10 (2-0), 11-8 (37m)
[4] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt Scott Handley (ENG) 10-11 (0-2), 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0), 11-3 (40m)
[6] Eric Galvez (MEX) bt [Q] Bernardo Samper (COL) 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 (38m)
[2] Alex Gough (WAL) bt John Rooney (IRL) 11-7, 11-9, 3-11, 7-11, 11-7 (75m)

Women's 1st round:
[1] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt Louise Crome (NZL) 9-4, 9-0, 9-2 (25m)
[7] Rebecca Botwright (ENG) bt Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) 7-9, 9-2, 9-1, 9-2
[3] Annelize Naude (NED) bt [Q] Margriet Huisman (NED) 9-4, 9-5, 9-6
[6] Tricia Chuah (MAS) bt [Q] Laura Mylotte (IRL) 9-4, 2-9, 9-7, 9-7
[8] Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt [Q] Tenille Swartz (RSA) 8-10, 9-6, 10-8, 9-7 (65m)
[4] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) bt Line Hansen (DEN) 9-1, 9-1, 9-0 (25m)
[5] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt Aisling Blake (IRL) 9-3, 9-5, 6-9, 9-7 (65m)
[Q] Laura Hill (ENG) bt [2] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 9-0, 9-1, 9-2 (31m)