The Optus 18s Singles Championships continued at Melbourne Park today, with the second day of round-robin matches taking place in difficult conditions. The warm weather coupled with strong gusting winds made life difficult for the players, before some afternoon rain yet again caused matches to be delayed.

Luke Saville and Maverick Banes played the match of the day, with their tight three-set battle ending with a 13-11 win in the final set tiebreaker to South Australian Saville. The even contest was punctuated by regular breaks of serve, the three-hour tussle in the heat causing both players cramps in the deciding set.

Photos: Optus 18s Australian Championships

Boys’ top seed James Duckworth was a convincing winner over fellow New South Welshman and seventh seed Ben Wagland, while 15-year old Nicholas Kyrgios caused his second upset in as many days.

The ACT-based Kyrgios defeated sixth seed Andrew McLeod in straight sets, after his win over fourth seed Alexander Bolt yesterday. Kyrgios tops his group and is almost certain to progress to the knockout quarterfinals.

Jordan Thompson recovered from his loss to Sean Berman yesterday, with the plucky 16 year old knocking off eighth seed Jack Schipanski in straight sets.

In the girls’ draw, only a handful of matches were completed before the rain hit Melbourne Park, which has caused delays throughout the December Showdown so far.

Reigning champion and third seed Monika Wejnert proved too good for young gun Ashleigh Barty, using her superior strength and experience to outpoint her fellow Queenslander 6-2 6-2.

Isabella Holland also defeated a younger opponent in Belinda Woolcock, last year’s Optus 14s Champion. The second seed won her second consecutive match in straight sets, 6-3 7-6(4).

Afternoon matches were moved indoors after restarting outdoors proved impossible due to the persistent rain and wet courts.

Optus 18s Singles Championships – Results
Boys

Group A (Blue)
[1] James Duckworth (NSW) d [7] Ben Wagland (NSW) 6-2 6-4
Mark Richards (Qld) d Andrew Harris (Vic) 6-4 6-2

Group B (Magenta)
[2] Sean Berman (Vic) v Andrew Whittington (Vic) (in progress)
Jordan Thompson (NSW) d [8] Jack Schipanksi (SA) 6-2 6-3

Group C (Green)
[5] Luke Saville (SA) d [3] Maverick Banes 1-6 7-5 7-6(11)
Simon Ede (NSW) v Luke Immanuel Harvey (Qld) (in progress)

Group D (Yellow)
Nicholas Kyrgios (ACT) d [6] Andrew McLeod (Qld) 7-5 6-3
[4] Alexander Bolt (SA) d Jarryd Chaplin (NSW) 2-6 6-3 6-3

Girls
Group A (Blue)
[1] Sophie Letcher (Qld) v [8] Nina Catovic (WA) (in progress)
Mia Vriens (NSW) v Ebony Panoho (Qld) (in progress)

Group B (Magenta)
[2] Isabella Holland (Qld) d Belinda Woolcock (Vic) 6-3 7-6(4)
[7] Kassandra Dunser (NT) v Stefani Stojic (Vic) (in progress)

Group C (Green)
[3] Monika Wejnert (Qld) d Ashleigh Barty (Qld) 6-2 6-2
[5] Ashling Sumner (Qld) v Abbie Myers (NSW) (in progress)

Group D (Yellow)
[4] Viktorija Rajicic (Vic) v [6] Azra Hadzic (Vic) (in progress)
Storm Sanders (WA) v Brooke Rischbieth (SA) (in progress)

View updated scores and draws
18s boys’ singles draws and scores
18s girls’ singles draws and scores
18s boys’ doubles draws and scores
18s girls’ doubles draws and scores