The retention of the Rover sponsored Irish women's open tennis championship by Devonshire's Lucie Ahl was a triumph for consistency complemented by excellent application of shot at Riverview on Saturday.

Ahl was one of a half a dozen overseas players capable of winning the title, among them most notably top seed Surina De Beer (RSA), French teenager Marina Caiazza and defeated finalist Julia Lutrova of Russia. But whereas they all had their off days Ahl's game remained on an even keel throughout the week.

After beating Lutrova 6-1 6-3 in a disappointing final that took only an hour and 10 minutes, Ahl's said: "I took advantage of her errors, her game was a bit more up and down than mine."

Unseeded Lutrova's game never reached the levels that saw her dismiss number two seed Karen Cross of Britain and she played numerous jaded shots when a good shot was needed if Ahl's game was to be undermined. Ahl's serve looked a little fragile in the early stages but she wasn't broken and took the first set in just over the half hour.

Ahl was better equipped to atone when she was broken in the second and sixth games of the second set. Six of the nine second set games went against serve. The decisive spell came after Lutrova broke back to level at 3-3. From this point, Ahl put in a grand stand finish, winning the next three games for the match and for the loss of only a further point.