Plenty of challengers indoors for top seed Ou

Paddy Ou.
Paddy Ou.
Paddy Ou is the top seed for this weekend’s Otago Indoor Open but he will face some tough competition.

Ou gets the top seeding after beating Mitchell Sizemore in club tennis last weekend but it will be tough for Ou, as plenty of talent is spread across the field.

Ou leaped over Aaron Hicks in national rankings with his win last weekend and, though he has never won this event, he is a contender.

He has been drawn to meet either Alex Hunt or fourth seed Sam Shearer, an Auckland student in the semifinals.

Hicks and Sizemore have been drawn in the same half, in an interesting possible match, after each won a tiebreak against the other in the Southern Shootout last weekend.

Hicks prevailed in the winner-take-all final.

Dangerous floaters in the draw include Otago representatives Carlos Reid and Ryan Eggers, while a number of outsiders from Southland and Southern Lakes and some northern students add to the puzzle.

There are 36 entries in the tournament but only eight in the women’s singles, although a number have entered doubles or mixed doubles only.

There will be interest in whether top seed Rileigh Fields, who was pushed hard by Stacy Hopwood in her first match back after the badminton season, can hold out second seed, Auckland student Charlotte Booth.

Booth was runner up to Jessie Stevenson in last week’s Shootout.

Eliza Booth beat Fields in a school event last season and her school mate, exchange student Bianka Shibuya, has the game to upset.

Men’s doubles contenders to challenge favourites Alex and his brother James Hunt include Otago Open titleholders Reid and Sizemore, runners up Ou and Eggers,

Hicks and Matt McCutcheon or Shearer and Tom Russell.

Women’s favourites include Stevenson and Zoe Berryman, Fields and Eliza Booth and Debby Stevens and Vila Faber.

Play begins at 9am today and finals will begin from about noon tomorrow, at the Edgar Centre.

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