Niland grabs first Grand Slam win

LIMERICK’S Conor Niland, beating Australia’s Joseph Sirianni (6-0, 6-4), has forced his way into the second qualifying round of the US Open in Flushing Meadows - the victory represented the Irish tennis star’s first win in a Grand Slam.
Niland performed brilliantly to see off Sirianni who is currently ranked 240th in the world, but was once ranked as high as 138th.


“Yeah, I’m delighted,” Conor Niland told Leader Sport last night.
“I had been disappointed not to win a match in a Grand Slam before and I was unlucky a few times so winning now is definitely a monkey off my back. I’ve got my first Grand Slam win out of the way and now I just have to concentrate on playing as well as I can.”
Conor Niland completely overwhelmed the Australian, who has earned nearly $400,000 over his professional career, and never once faced a break point during the match which the Limerick man won in just 57 minutes.
And, the Irish number one was thrilled to win four of his six break points while Niland’s service game was excellent throughout the one-sided contest.
“My performance was really good,” added Conor Niland.
“I served really well and got 70 per cent of my first serves in which is really high. I didn’t face a break point either and I was really solid off the ground. I thought that I mixed my tennis up well and changed the rhythm of the match when I thought I needed to.
“Yeah, I think I played really well and stayed pretty calm throughout the match which was important.”
On Thursday Conor Niland will face Columbia’s Alejandro Falla in the second qualifying round.
Falla, who was once ranked as high as 79th in the world and currently 159th, has been seeded in the qualifying rounds. And, Conor Niland knows that the South American represents a tough opponent: “He’s just outside the top 100 in the world and has spent the last few years inside the top 100. He’s a seed and I know it is going to a be a tough match, but he’s also a clay courter so hopefully I will catch him on a court that he’s not completely at home on. Alejandro is a very good player, but if I can play like I did today I think I have a great chance of getting through the match. The atmosphere over here is great, I’m really enjoying it and hopefully Thursday will go well for me.”

BRIAN MCDONNELL