Ireland Davis Cup star with strong Limerick links says Austria tie was 'unbelievable dream'

IRELAND Davis Cup tennis star Conor Gannon has described the experience of playing in their World Group I Play-off 1st Round match with Austria in front of a capacity crowd at UL as an 'unbelievable dream'.

Gannon, a rising star of Irish tennis with strong Limerick links, teamed up with the experienced David O'Hare to take on the highly-rated Austrian pair of Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler, who have five ATP titles to their name, three within the last year in their doubles clash last weekend.

After a nervy opening set, the Irish pair recovered superbly in the second, playing some terrific tennis, before agonisingly losing out to their high ranking opponents in a tie-break. The defeat ended Ireland's hopes of pulling off a shock win in the tie as Austria through 2020 US Open champion and former world number 3 Dominic Thiem and world number 40 Sebastian Ofner had scored singles wins over Michael Agwi and Osgar O’Hoisin respectively on Saturday.

Twenty one-year-old Gannon is no stranger to Limerick and UL. His mother Karen (nee O'Sullivan) is from Castletroy and University of Memphis student Conor is a regular visitor to Limerick and the university campus.

Reflecting on last weekend's Davis Cup experience, with matches played in front of a sell-out attendance of 2,400 on both Saturday and Sunday, Dubliner Conor Gannon said: "It was an unbelievable experience, great crowd and nice to show the young children some good tennis.

"With regard to our match, that is why the Austrian pair are top 20-30 in the world in doubles. They are just world class in the pressure moments. We had a little few mistakes which hurt us but I think Dave (O'Hare) and myself did ourselves proud.

"We could easily put our heads down and not cherish the moment, but it was fantastic that we showed a bit of heart, kept going and kept on solving the problems because we found that our service games were tough to hold and they found theirs easy to hold, so we had to keep our heads up. We did quite well I thought.

"The facilities here at UL are spectacular. It is one of the best in Ireland. They have everything here. That is why Munster Rugby, one of the best teams in the world, trains here. All credit to everyone who was involved in setting up this event.

"My mom is from Castletroy, beside the golf club. I was walking my dog in UL over the summer. My granny still lives here. I have been to Limerick umpteen times.

"People in Limerick love their sport, the success of the Limerick hurlers, Munster Rugby, they all came out this weekend to support us."

Conor Gannon praised the impact Ireland's Davis Cup team captain and Limerick native Conor Niland had on the squad before and during their tie with Austria.

"Conor (Niland) has been unbelievable, even on the sidelines getting a few tips and a few hints off him," Conor Gannon explained.

"He has been there, done that, done all this. To have someone like that on the sidelines and even before the matches, he just knows what to do. All credit to Conor for giving all he can back to us, people on tour and in college. I think he has been amazing. This week and in previous weeks he has been top notch. All credit to him."

Conor Gannon was back in action for his college side, the University of Memphis, against Mississippi State on Wednesday at Leftwich Tennis Center, just 72 hours after his Davis Cup exploits in Limerick.

Gannon added: "After the match on Wednesday, I will get a few days off and can look back on this unbelievable Davis Cup weekend at UL."