mmg.com.au

All eyes will be on Red Hill’s Danielle McIntyre as the highest-ranked player at the 2013 Goulburn Valley Junior Tennis Championships, which kick off at Shepparton Lawn Tennis Club today.

With an Australian ranking of 96, McIntyre is the No.1 seed in the under-16 girls’ singles draw and is some 197 places higher than her closest rival in the tournament.

On the boys’ side, Melbourne’s Nathan Ponton has a tournament-high ranking of 322 and will be a hot favourite in the under-16 boys’ singles.

However, plenty of district talent will be vying for all important ranking points as well in the Junior Tour Bronze Series event.

Promising up-and-comers Nick Gattuso from Shepparton and Kialla Park’s Kyle Andrews will join Ponton in the under-16 boys’ singles draw, while Shepparton’s Jessica Mason is expected to be competitive in the under-14 girls.

These and plenty of others will attempt to deny a heavy contingent of players from across Victoria and southern NSW a taste of success in Shepparton.

As well as the under-12, under-14 and under-16 ranking point categories, there are singles competitions from under-9 to under-18 and doubles competitions from under-10 to under-18.

Under-9 and under-10 events will be played in round-robin format to ensure plenty of playing time for young players.

Boasting about 40 years of history in the region, the championships are a major drawcard, but tournament manager Jamie Haynes admitted this year’s event was down on numbers.

‘‘We’re actually down a bit on last year, just because of a few events clashing,’’ Haynes said.

‘‘We’re down about 100, which is really disappointing, but at the same time it might give us a bit more flexibility with the scheduling.’’

One other change from last year is the abolition of a qualifying draw, which Haynes said was partially due to fewer entries.

However, the biggest concern is the conditions, with 40°C temperatures forecast for the final three days of the event.

‘‘More than anything we’re concerned about the weather at the moment, but there should be plenty of good tennis anyhow,’’ Haynes said.

‘‘We’re playing with the idea of maybe having a break around 2pm through to about 3pm or something, just depending on the weather and how (the players) are coping.’’

Play starts at 8am each day, with the event to wrap up on Sunday.