The West of Ulster Championships got under way at Enniskillen Tennis Club this week and there was plenty of good early action.

Play commenced in beautiful sunshine on Monday evening.

On Court 1, Robert Thompson played against Hogan O’Haire, who was seeded four in the Mens’ A singles. The first set Hogan took 6-3, and was three games up in the second set when Robert unfortunately had to retire through an injury.

In the Ladies’ B Singles, Maria Jones overcame Sue Doherty 6-1, 6-1 to move into the Womens’ semi-final, and in the Mens’ B Singles, John Griffin defeated Stewart Mulligan 6-0, 6-3.

Another B Singles proved a hard-fought match between Daragh Stewart and his opponent, Charlie Hutchings, which Daragh won 10-5 in the third set tie break.

Colin Watterson played an outstanding game against the hard-hitting Christian Kunze to win 6-4, 6-2, while Peter Craig managed to squeeze through his game against Nick Hambly.

The first of the Mens C Doubles was a fabulous and entertaining game. Peter Beckett and Jonny Dixon finally won their match in the tie-break 12-10 against Peter Wong and Cliff Worley.

Andris Stebers played an outstanding B Singles match against Robert Young, only to be beaten in the tie-break, 11-9.

Later that evening, the Mens’ Doubles kicked off in Division B. First up, Nick Hambly and his partner, Christian Kunze, overcame David McDowell and Ralph McCurry 10-7 in the tie break.

Meanwhile, John Conlon and John Fallon played the experienced duo Stephen Cutherbertson and Roger Howe, with Stephen and Roger winning 6-2, 6-1.

In the Ladies, Leslie Campbell and her crafty partner Josie Gillen were narrowly beaten by mum Doreen and daughter Maria Jones.

Ralph McCurry in the B Singles secured a win against Hugh Maguire 6-3, 6-2, and Cliff Worley also secured a win against his opponent, Robert Young, with the scores 6-3, 6-4.

The last match of the evening was a thrilling game between Innes Redmond and Steven Phair in the Mens’ B Singles, with Innes fighting back from 6-3 down in the tie break to take the victory.

Play continued on Tuesday, and in the B Singles, Stephen Elliott defeated Declan McBride 10-7 in a tie break to progress to the next stage.

Frank Irvine beat his opponent, Alex Knowles, 6-1, 6-1, and Rodger Firmin won against Ralph McCurry, 6-0, 6-1. Cathal Deehan, who is the second seed, then beat Frank Irvine, 6-2, 6-1.

The first of the B Mixed Doubles saw Denis Daly partner Tournament Director, Sonja Hateboer. They overcame their opponents, Pete Keogh and Liz Murphy.

In the B Mens’ Doubles, Peter Craig and Arnold Custodio beat Dominic Burns and Pete Keogh, 6-4, 6-2, and Stephen Kennelly and his partner, Daragh Stewart, beat Oleg Aleksandrov and Denis Daly, 7-5, 6-1.

In the B Womens’ Doubles, Emily Donaldson and Liz McGuinness beat Veronica Hawkes and Liz Murphy.

In the Mens’ A Singles, top seed Matthew McGann outplayed Stephen Kennelly to progress to the semis. In the Ladies’ A singles, Nikki Hawkes beat Aoifin Shorten, 6-0, 6-3.

The A Mixed Doubles pairing of Clive Funston and Noreen Cassidy played John Maguire and his partner Orla Malone, and in a classic battle that had the crowd on the edge of their seats, it was Clive and Noreen who edged through after a tie break.

Matches continue to be played through the week, with Finals day on Sunday.