By Stephen Higgins | Thursday 30th July
Ireland’s Michael Agwi and Conor Gannon have both reached the last eight of the 2026 DLR Irish Open after successful day three outings.
Agwi, the Irish no.1 and 2025 finalist, survived a battle with qualifier Jules Leroux before triumphing 6-2 6-7 6-2 after nearly three hours of play. The 22-year-old will next face seventh seed Markus Molder, who defeated Matisse Farzam 7-5 7-6.
After his star turn at the Dublin Challenger, Gannon (below) has continued his good form with a second singles win this week. The 24-year-old dispatched Dimitris Azoidis 7-6 6-2 and will now battle Matt Ponchet (3) in the last eight. Ponchet had too much for Ammar Elamin on Thursday evening and took the match 6-4 6-3.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, top seed Robin Catry continued his serene progress through the draw with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Jordi Mas de Ugarte. The world no.604 will make up an all-French quarter-final with Lucas Marionneau, who toppled Valentin Lapalu 6-2 6-3.
And in the remaining section, second seed Daniel De Jonge took out Ireland’s Daniel Borisov 6-2 6-4 and now has the last eight prospect of qualifier Roan Jones, who upset Pavlos Tsitsipas in three sets.
In the 2026 DLR Irish Open women’s draw, there was plenty of carnage amongst the seeds on a dramatic day three.
Second seed Alicia Dudeney crashed out to British compatriot Amelia Rajecki after a tight 6-4 7-6 battle. Rajecki will now play the seventh seed Britt Du Pree (below), who outlasted former champion Jodie Burrage in an absurdly close match decided by three tie-break sets.
Viktoria Morvayova (5) also went out on Thursday as she lost to 2025 semi-finalist Esther Adeshina 6-4 6-3. The British winner will take on former top 40 talent Viktoria Hruncakova, who got through in straights over Rose Marie Nijkamp.
2025 finalist Victoria Allen is on track to repeat that showing after her 6-3 7-5 over Zuzanna Pawlikowska. But Allen now has the ominous obstacle of top seed Vendula Valdmannova, who needed three sets to get past Isis Louise Van den Broek 6-4 1-6 6-1.
In the remaining women’s section, fourth seed Valentina Ryser dismissed Urszula Radwanska 6-2 6-0 and will challenge qualifier Chloe Noel for a place in the semi-finals.
Friday will bring the singles quarter-finals in both draws plus the semi-finals of the doubles competitions, where there is Irish interest guaranteed in at least two of the men’s matches.
Remember that you can follow all the 2026 DLR Open action at the ITF’s W50 and M15 sites.
Photos by Sport Narrative
