Hurley double title tipped

Jono Hurley and Baden Stevenson look set to clash in two finals when the Wairarapa closed tennis championships draw to a close at the Masterton Tennis Centre on Saturday.
Hurley (Masterton), the defending champion, and Stevenson (Gladstone) are already through to the regional one men's singles final and Hurley has also advanced that far in the men's doubles, where he is being partnered by the country's No1 amateur golfer Ben Campbell, who plays out of the Opaki club.
Stevenson has teamed up with his Gladstone clubmate, Chris Schofield, in the doubles and they will be favoured to beat the all-Opaki combination of Brett Dymond and Andrew Colvin in the semis and thereby qualify to front Hurley and Stevenson in the decider.
The smart money would be on the hugely talented Hurley winning both finals despite the fact he is not playing on the club scene this season. He has a wide range of shots at his command and the experience to handle the lack of match play and the pressure of the occasion.
At the same time, however, Stevenson is a gritty competitor who has scored many notable wins on the club and provincial scene and, if Hurley happens to have an off-day, he will be quick to capitalise.
The regional one men's singles plate final will be contested between Dymond and Greg Williams (Masterton) while Colvin will be up against George Passi (Masterton) in the consolation plate final.
The regional one women's singles are being played under a round robin format with the draw for the final series of matches on Saturday being: Charlotte Mossman (Opaki) v Georgia Atkinson (Pirinoa), Abby Hill (Opaki) v Dushka Warren (Masterton), Zoe Schofield (Gladstone) v Abby Hill (Opaki), Mossman v Warren and Schofield v Atkinson.
Indications are that the outcome of the encounter between top seed Schofield and the remarkable 10-year-old Atkinson will decide this title as they both look likely to be unbeaten heading into the clash.
The regional one women's doubles sees Atkinson and Warren still to play Schofield and Zoe Paris and Hill and Mossman and, here too, either Schofield or Atkinson seem sure to be part of the overall winning team.
Three Opaki players are through to the semifinals of the regional two men's singles. Top seed Chris Davidson (Opaki) will meet fourth seed Colin Gillot (Masterton) and second seed Simon Everitt (Opaki) will meet third seed John McNab (Opaki).
Davidson and Everitt will play Mitch Blackwood and Jaimie McMaster of Wairarapa College in one semi of the regional two men's doubles with the other being between McNab and his Opaki clubmate, Tim Bird, and Gladstone duo Dick Hodson and Nick Thornton.