TENNIS: Ireland opened their Federation Cup qualifying tournament in Pretoria, South Africa in impressive fashion yesterday with a 3-0 win over Botswana.

Elsa O'Riain opened with a 6-0 6-0 win over Razalia Phetu while Kelly Liggan dropped just one game to Papiwa Marobela in the other singles match.

O'Riain, who has just broken through 500 in the WTA rankings, then teamed up with Liggan for a 6-0, 6-0 win in the doubles.

The Irish team, which also includes Yvonne Doyle and Claire Curran, will continue in the round-robin phase of the event against Finland today before meeting Egypt tomorrow.