Circuit

Roovers relief in taking Irish title
Roovers dedicates win to memory of Meijs
Date: 12/8/2017 5:25 PM
Published by : Mark Phelan
It has been a long time coming but Alexander Roovers finally got an overdue men’s singles circuit win lifting the Forza Irish Open crown in Dublin this afternoon. The German overcame local hero Nhat Nguyen in two games to claim the title and dedicated the win to the memory of his friend Erik Meijs. 

Roovers had suffered a heavy defeat to the young Irishman just two weeks ago in Scotland. This time around the German felt a lot more confident as he grew into the tournament game by game.

“I have been on good form recently but you never really know how long that will last.” Said Roovers “This week I felt better in every game and I knew this final I was in better shape to take on Nhat.”

The young rising star of Irish badminton looked off colour in today’s final and Roovers seized the opportunity and limited Nguyen to feed of scraps for most of the second set. Immediately after the win the German was quick to dedicate his win to the memory of Erik Meijs who tragically died just a few short weeks ago. 

“At Erik’s funeral his parents said to me go and play in his memory. Think of him when you play and that is all you can do. That is what I did this week and this win is for him more than anyone else.” 

Anna Thea Madsen continued her fairy tale comeback taking the women’s singles title after getting the call on Monday to say she had made the qualification draw. With little or no ranking the Dane was relaying on late withdrawals to get her into the tournament and once confirmed Madsen romped to the title after a heavy seven match schedule. 



Maiden win for likeable Scots

Adam Hall and Alex Dunn (pictured above on match point) claimed their maiden men’s doubles circuit win beating Sam and Joshua Magee in todays final. In what was a complete rollercoaster ride of a match the Scots took the opening set before the Irish marched to the second with a 21-6 win. 

In the decider the Scot’s circled the wagons once more and consigned the Irish to another frustrating finals day defeat taking the title in three sets. 

“What a crazy rollercoaster match but in the end we are just happy to win and get our first victory together as a pair.” said Hall

In what proved to be a miserable day for the home players Sam & Chloe Magee were unable to take a win for Ireland losing out to Gregory Mairs and Jenny Moore in the mixed doubles final. Ann Tran and Emilie Lefel (FRA) took the women’s doubles title beating Moore and Williams (ENG) in the final to add the 2017 Irish title to their victory twelve months ago in Dublin. 

For all results from today's Irish Open finals click HERE

For a photo gallery for finals day in Dublin click HERE

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