The rematch between Carterton's Matt Spooner and Kelby Courtney promises to be a much tighter affair than their previous encounter in the top men's singles. Spooner was workmanlike in that performance easing away to a comfortable victory but Courtney has taken plenty from that match, remaining unbeaten since and will, no doubt, turn up with maximum intensity.
The number two men's singles between Cory Spooner and Gladstone's Alistair McWilliam is very much in the 50/50 category. McWilliam was absent for their earlier clash and is crucial to his team's chances and despite not being in vintage form, has the firepower to get the job done. In the same breath, Cory Spooner has fashioned a slightly better record of the two this season and will rate his chances of securing victory also.
The bottom men's singles rubber features two unbeaten players, Carterton's Hideki Tadamasa and Scott Day, and has all the ingredients to make a classic match. Day has arguably been the player of the season across all teams and has really stepped up for Gladstone, including a win over Cory Spooner when these teams last met.
Tadamasa meanwhile, is still a relative unknown and his ultra-consistent style of tennis may provide Day with his biggest test yet.
In the women's encounter Gladstone's Sophie Fitzgerald will need to produce the match of her life to topple reigning Wairarapa champion Karen Herrick. That is not to say Fitzgerald is without a chance, as she demonstrated in their previous encounter that she has the game to make some decent inroads. Herrick is as competitive as they come and her ability to not give away any cheap points should eventually get the better of her younger opponent when it comes to the crunch.
The chances are this final will be decided in the doubles and as both teams have been regularly mixing up their combinations, it's anyone's guess as to who will team up for these key matches.
In Matt Spooner, Carterton have a hard-nosed doubles performer and he would be expected to produce a victory regardless of whether he plays the men's or mixed doubles. The other match Gladstone will definitely be targeting as a "must win" to get them across the line.
Martinborough and Masterton are scheduled to meet in the playoff for third, in what is essentially a friendly.
In normal circumstances this should be a close encounter, though it has been well documented that Masterton have much stronger personnel available for Friday night fixtures than Martinborough, and on that basis would be favoured to win.
In regional two the competition is proving to be very even with Opaki 2 sitting on top of the points table.
On Saturday they play host to second-placed Masterton 1 who have a game in hand and may, in fact, prove too strong for the home side here to move into pole position.
Also in the hunt are Carterton/Gladstone who should claim an away win at Rathkeale while Masterton 2 will be at home to Opaki 1 in a fixture that has no clear favourite. Martinborough have the bye.
