Aaron Hicks had direct entry because of his ranking and Ryan Eggers, Paddy Ou and Mitchell Sizemore have joined him with a mixture of fine performances and some luck.
Eggers was outstanding in beating Alex Low, of Auckland, who was seeded to go through and was a former Otago Open titleholder, when he spent years studying in Dunedin.
The score was 6-1, 6-3 but Eggers then added the scalp of Nelson's James Hunt 6-3, 6-3 to gain entry to the main draw, where he meets Aucklander Connor Williamson. Top seed Finn Tearney awaits the winner.
Ou beat William Spicer, from Canterbury, 6-2, 6-4 and then put out Robert Menzies, from Auckland, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Ou had been recovering from a badly sprained ankle and had had little tennis leading into the event. He will meet fellow qualifier Victor Romero (North Harbour) in the first round proper.
Sizemore was seeded to win through but lost the second round 4-6, 6-7 to Reid Burrows, from North Harbour, who had won his first round 6-2, 6-0, while Sizemore had a bye.
However, Sizemore regained his place as a lucky loser after a withdrawal. His reward is to meet Davis Cup player Marcus Daniell on the main court. Daniell is ranked inside the top 50 in world doubles.
Carlos Reid beat Aucklander Flynn Crackett 6-3, 6-1 but then lost to Trent Massam 0-6, 0-6 to end his hopes, while Hicks is to play Sebastian Lavie, who was good enough to beat Tearney, among others, when he won the Te Anau Invitational title two years ago.
In doubles play today, Sizemore and Reid will play sixth seeds Jackson Bodle and Nicholas Burnie, from Auckland, while Eggers and Ou meet Zach Whaanga and Olly Sadler, the seventh seeds, from Wellington. Ou was soundly beaten by Whaanga, who is at an American College, when they met in Wellington in June.
Hicks will partner Low against Alex and James Hunt, from Nelson. Alex Hunt, who has a prosthesis on his left arm, won the Otago Indoor Open in September.
There are no Otago women in the national event.
