Kenny Crashes In Irish Open Quarters

Local hopes in the men's event in the Cannon Kirk Homes Irish Open expired when Liam Kenny crashed out at the quarter-final stage of the PSA Tour event at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin.

The 29-year-old Irish champion looked out of sorts in the first game against the charismatic Italian world number 29 Davide Bianchetti, winning just two points. But, to the delight of the vociferous local support, Dubliner Kenny soon found his range of shots to take the second game.

As the match wore on, however, the third-seeded Italian began to control the rallies, putting the Irishman, the No5 seed, on the defensive and ultimately going on to win 11-2, 6-11, 11-3, 11-4 in 64 minutes.

In the semi-finals, Bianchetti will meet Borja Golan, the top seed and defending champion from Spain who beat England's No8 seed Stacey Ross 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3 in 63 minutes.

Veteran Welshman Alex Gough, the No2 seed who 24 hours earlier knocked out Galwayman John Rooney, looked in sparkling form as he despatched Eric Galvez. The experienced 36-year-old produced a master-class of shots against his sixth-seeded Mexican opponent, winning 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 in 49 minutes.

Gough will face fourth seed Jonathan Kemp in the other semi-final after the Telford-based Englishman ended the run of German qualifier Simon Rosner 11-6, 11-5, 11-1.

Irish hopes are still riding high in the women's WISPA World Tour event: Madeline Perry won her quarter-final in straight games and remains on course for a third successive Irish Open title. However, the world number nine from Banbridge struggled in the first game against England's seventh-seeded Rebecca Botwright, eventually coming through 10/8.

The 30-year-old eight-times Irish National champion raised her game significantly in the next and dominated every rally, forcing her opponent into a string of errors before winning 10-8, 9-1, 9-1.

Perry now faces number three seed Annelize Naude in an eagerly-awaited semi-final. Naude, who dismissed Malaysia's No6 seed Tricia Chuah in just 15 minutes, should prove a real challenge to the Irish woman.

After delivering a major upset over France's No2 seed Isabelle Stoehr in the first round, English qualifier Laura Hill's courageous Dublin run came to an end in the quarter-finals against New Zealand's Jaclyn Hawkes.

In one of the standout games of the tournament, fifth seed Hawkes needed 75 minutes to overcome the 30-year-old fire-fighter from Duffield in Derbyshire 9-6, 8-10, 9-5, 9-6.

The 24-year-old from Auckland takes on another Englishwoman in the semi-finals - number four seed Dominique Lloyd-Walter who cruised through her quarter final against compatriot Sarah Kippax 9-1, 9-3, 9-0 in 28 minutes.

Men's quarter-finals:
[1] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [8] Stacey Ross (ENG) 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3 (63m)
[3] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt [5] Liam Kenny (IRL) 11-2, 6-11, 11-3, 11-4 (64m)
[4] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt [Q] Simon Rosner (GER) 11-6, 11-5, 11-1 (30m)
[2] Alex Gough (WAL) bt [6] Eric Galvez (MEX) 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (49m)

Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [7] Rebecca Botwright (ENG) 10-8, 9-1, 9-1 (35m)
[3] Annelize Naude (NED) bt [6] Tricia Chuah (MAS) 9-2, 9-2 ret. (15m)
[4] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) bt [8] Sarah Kippax (ENG) 9-1, 9-3, 9-0 (28m)
[5] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt [Q] Laura Hill (ENG) 9-6, 8-10, 9-5, 9-6 (75m)