12s and 16s to contest national clay titles
The National Claycourt Championships continue this week, with the 12s and 16s divisions to be contested in Ipswich and at Melbourne Park respectively.
Melbourne, Australia, 9 April 2013 | tennis.com.au
The National Claycourt Championships continue in Ipswich this week with players in the 12-and-under division set to hit the dirt at the George Alder Tennis Centre.
The tournament’s 16-and-under division, meanwhile, will be staged at the new clay courts at Melbourne Park, beginning Tuesday.
The headliners in the boys’ 16s event are Akira Santillan and Oliver Anderson – while Santillan takes his place in the main draw, Anderson will have to go through qualifying, with a last-minute scheduling change meaning his entry into the tournament could only come by way of the qualifying event.
Victorian Zoe Hives is the top seed in the girls’ 16s draw, and is joined by No.2 seed Chloe Hule, third-seeded Maddison Inglis and No.4 seed Michelle Pits.
> see the boys’ 16s tournament entry list
In Ipswich last week, it was the 14s’ time to shine, with Mayez Elrich and Jaimee Fourlis claiming the boys’ and girls’ titles at the weekend.
And beginning Tuesday, an impressive field of junior 12-and-under talent will again grace the red clay in Queensland.
In the girls’ 12s event, Jessica Zaviacic will be looking for back-to-back national titles after winning the National Grasscourt Championships in Mildura in February.
She’s the third seed in the draw, behind top seed Olivia Gadecki and No.2 seed Shan-Ying Barr.
In the boys’ 12s tournament, the first and second seeds are Stefan Norodom and Connor Di Marco respectively.
The 12s events will be conducted in a round robin format before the best-performed players progress to an elimination stage.