IRELAND BATTLED GAMELY but fell to a 4-0 defeat to Austria in the Davis Cup, meaning their opponents are promoted to the second tier of the competition. 

Ireland trailed 2-0 at the start of today’s action, following yesterday’s singles defeats for Michael Agwi to Dominic Thiem; and Osgar O’Hoisin against Sebastian Ofner. 

Those results meant Ireland needed to win the doubles match at the start of today’s play to keep the tie alive, but Conor Gannon and David O’Hare fell to a 6-1, 7-5 defeat to Austria’s doubles specialists Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler, both of whom are ranked inside the top 40 in the ATP doubles rankings. 

Twenty-year-old Agwi – Ireland’s outstanding performer – then pushed Miedler to a championship tie-break, having battled back to win the second set 6-3. He was edged out 10-8, however, and the fifth match between Thiem and O’Hoisin wasn’t played. 

The matches were played in front of a sell-out crowd of almost 3,000 people in the University of Limerick, with the Irish side – captained by Conor Niland – battling admirably against much more vaunted opponents. 

Thiem – the 2020 US Open champion and former world number three – was not even the highest-ranked player in the Austrian team: that was Ofner, as Thiem continues his comeback from a wrist problem. 

By contrast, Agwi was the highest-ranked member of the Irish team, at 935 in the ATP rankings.