CLASS APART: Jono Hurley is aiming for seventh singles title.
CLASS APART: Jono Hurley is aiming for seventh singles title.
SIX-TIME winner Jono Hurley will be the man to beat for the regional one men's singles title at the Wairarapa closed tennis championships being played at the Masterton Tennis Centre this weekend.
Heading a bumper field of 14 entrants in the premier event, Hurley has been a class apart ininterclub this season and has also shown good form for Maungaraki on the Wellington club scene. The big serving Trinity player has weapons all across the court and should only need to be somewhere near his best to make it title number seven.
The obvious contenders to press Hurley are Matt Spooner (Carterton) and Baden Stevenson (Gladstone). Spooner has five Wairarapa titles to his name and was the last player to defeat Hurley in a closed tournament, albeit some 10 years ago.
Stevenson, on the other hand, has never won this event, but pushed Hurley in a tight final in 2011, the last time both players contested this event. Stevenson has only just returned to tennis so may be short of a gallop but should not be underestimated as he has powerful ground-strokes off both wings.
A clutch of in-form players including Kelby Courtney, Chris Davidson, Alistair McWilliam and Duncan Oakley will all be looking to make their presence felt and book a semifinal berth.
Teen sensation Georgia Atkinson will be looking to collect her second title in the women's regional one singles that is being played in a round-robin format. Atkinson created a stir when she became the youngest champion in 2012, but has been off the scene for the most part since. She has unlimited potential and has been in ominous form for Masterton/Trinity at interclub and will go in to this tournament as the top seed.
Her biggest threat is Karen Herrick (Carterton) who defeated Atkinson before Christmas. With fierce determination and a high level of fitness, Herrick will be looking to emulate her mother, Janice James, who was a multiple-times Wairarapa champion.
The match between these two has all the makings of a classic and could definitely go either way.
In the regional two men's singles, Mike King (Opaki) is well placed to defend the title he won last season, although he will need to be at his absolute best to deny the challenge of Martinborough youngster Patrick Wall, who has improved rapidly over the past 12 months.
The doubles is also being contested and the father/son combination of Steve and Jono Hurley will take top billing in the regional one men's division. There are several quality pairings to keep them honest with Spooner and Stevenson the logical finalists. Other pairings of note include McWilliam and Courtney and Chad Parson and Matt Bunny, while the Opaki combinations were to be confirmed.
The women's doubles features Atkinson and Nicola Wall and Herrick and Ana Gudsell.
Play gets under way at 9am tomorrow with the doubles finals and the women's singles final scheduled to be played later in the day.
The men's singles final is due to be played early Sunday afternoon.
