Things are about to get a lot tougher for seeded players at the New Zealand residential championships following an easy time for leading lights on the first day at North Harbour yesterday.
Top seed and two-time defending champ Simon Rea beat Auckland teenager Richard Cahi 6-1, 6-2 and now has to face another talented teen in local Kevin Jay.
Fourth seed James Shortall arrived from his job in office clothes, walked on the court and and beat Canterbury's best junior, James Eason, in straight sets, but now plays last year's 18s finalist Henry Gers.
Gers, who is now on a scholarship in the United States, won a three-set match over Matthew Lyon and is sure to challenge Shortall.
Sixth seed Jacob Olsen has probably the toughest encounter of the third round with a match against Matt Simpson, while seventh seed Nick Lane, back from a scholarship in the US, has to contend with former Davis Cup squad member Mark Thompson.
Second seed, and younger brother of Mark, Adam Thompson cruised through his first match in straight sets against Aucklander Aaron McDermott, but any suggestion he will meet GD Jones in the semis is countered with the comment, "I have to get through all the other matches first."
Jones easily beat Wellington's Andrew Walmsley 6-0, 6-1, and now faces Wellingtonian Warwick Foy.
In the other men's feature match, eighth seed Dan King Turner from Canterbury plays 18s finalist Kiril Tcherveniachki.
In the women's singles, top seed Shelley Stephens faces Julia Erakovic, the older sister of new junior star Marina Erakovic.
Leanne Baker, seeded third, plays Wellington's Lisa Wilkinson, while Sacha Jones will play the highly-rated former 18s champ Dianne Hollands.
Tennis: Seeded players face encounters of the tougher kind
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