Paul Fitzgerald ‘has bright tennis future’ in Munster

Munster tennis star Paul Fitzgerald predicts a bright future for the sport in the province following the successful defence of their inter-provincial senior championship title in Lower Aghada at the weekend.

Fitzgerald, a professional tennis player in Germany, helped Munster retain the title at the weekend in style: they defeated Connacht 5-1, crushed Ulster 6-0, before drawing 3-3 with Leinster.

And he is hugely impressed by the up and coming talent in the Munster ranks.

“I’ve been in this team for 15 years, and have been on the losing side many times.

“To see the depth of young talent available shows we have a lot more to throw at people in the next couple of years. This is only the start of it.

“There’s a lot of work being done by our captain Cian Blake and everybody in the branch. We did a lot of preparation for this victory and it all paid off. We will grow from here.”

Sean O’Callaghan and Sinead Lohan won all of their games, with the former securing the title after a tiebreaking win over Cal Craven.

This was the first time Cork hosted the championships in 10 years and Munster Branch president Shane Cooke was thrilled with the performance, and the venue.

“It’s great to move the championship around different clubs and not just keep it in the big clubs. For a small club like Lower Aghada to host the championship is great.

“The massive turnout showed there is plenty of interest in Munster Tennis.”