2024 Irish Open | Jones, Gillan Make It British Double
Ben Jones and Alice Gillan take singles titles at reborn Irish Open
It was a case of Great Britain 2-0 Poland on Irish Open finals day in Carrickmines as Ben Jones and Alice Gillan triumphed in the men's and women's singles respectively.
In the women's final, the 25-year-old from Kent defeated Aleksandra Zuchanska 6-2 6-1 in a one-sided contest. The Pole looked hampered by a knee issue throughout the contest and could not compete with the impressively solid Gillan.
The Brit displayed fine composure and clean hitting as she claimed her second ITF title after Tacarigua five years ago. Unfortunately, Zuchanska could find competitive tennis on the day and particularly struggled on serve with 10 double faults by the end.
The men's final that followed was quite a different affair as both men generally held serve impressively, apart from the start of each set.
Filip Pieczonka's lefty delivery let him down in the first game of the contest and put him immediately on the back foot. Jones held on for the rest of the set and staved off a couple of break points along the way to take it 6-4.
The second initially followed the same pattern as once again, the Pole conceded his opening service game. Jones again served impressively before an unusual dip in form cost him the sixth game on serve. Both men held serve for the rest of the set before a tie-break eventually went the way of the 26-year-old Brit.
It's the first ITF title for Jones and ended up twice as sweet as he captured the doubles crown a day earlier alongside Joshua Charlton.
The players received their plates in the clubhouse to end a successful week at Carrickmines as the Irish Open returned to the ITF Tour for the first time since 2019.
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