Gannon and Elamin are comeback kings on second day with Agwi also victorious
By Stephen Higgins | Wednesday 29th July 2026
On a dramatic day two at the 2026 DLR Irish Open, Ireland’s Davis Cup stalwarts Conor Gannon and Ammar Elamin both recovered from set deficits before winning their openers.
In the third match on centre court, Gannon lost the first set in a tie-break to Italy’s Lorenzo Lorusso before recovering 6-7 7-6 6-3. It was a solid start from the 24-year-old as he builds on an excellent showing at the Dublin Challenger earlier this summer.
Gannon will next face the fifth seed, Dimitris Azoidis, who dispatched Ireland’s Dylan Leeman 6-3 6-1. It should be a competitive encounter with both players ranked within sight of each other around the 1,000 mark.
There was a similar comeback tale on court 7 as Ammar Elamin turned his first round match around after dropping the first set. The 24-year-old finished strongly in the end against Aaron Gabet as he took the match 3-6 7-6 6-1.
In another bright moment for home fans, Irish no.1 Michael Agwi was a convincing winner over Zach Stephens with a 6-3 6-0 scoreline. Agwi was runner-up here 12 months ago and will face qualifier Jules Leroux next.
Meanwhile, in the last match of the day on court 7, Daniel Borisov got the better of Freddy Murray 7-6 6-4 in an all-Ireland clash.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, there were strong wins for top seeds Robin Catry (1), Daniel De Jonge (2) and Matt Ponchet (3). The latter will play Elamin in the second round, with De Jong set to battle Borisov.
In the women’s draw, top seed Vendula Valdmannova began her 2026 DLR Iris Open in strong style as she comfortably got past Aliesia Reva 6-2 6-2.
It was not so straightforward for Alicia Dudeney (2), who survived a battle with Sonja Zhiyenbayeva before triumphing 7-5 3-6 6-4. There was also an upset on court 3 as sixth seed Weronika Falkowska fell in three sets to Chloe Noel.
Elsewhere in the W50, fourth seed Valentina Ryser beat Micol Salvadori 6-4 6-1 while Ireland’s Sinead Lohan was knocked out in straights by former champion Jodie Burrage.
Thursday will bring round three matches of the 2026 DLR Irish Open with Agwi, Gannon and Elamin all in action on centre court while Borisov plays on court 7.
There will also be home interest in the doubles as Agwi, Gannon, Elamin, Dylan Leeman, Cian McDonnell, Laura Carvalho e Silva Kracke, Kate Gardiner, Zac Naughton and Sean Ó Nuallain competing.
Remember that you can follow all the 2026 DLR Open action at the ITF’s W50 and M15 sites.
Photos by Sport Narrative and Amy French
