The pre-Pesach singles tournament continued in full swing last weekend, and with additional rounds completed, the field for both men and women has narrowed down to the last 16.
Games this weekend will see the quarter-finals completed, with the semi-finals and final scheduled for next weekend at the Ramat Hasharon club.
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In the women's section, the top four seeded players are still in action: Tami Kamzel, Beverley Polatinsky, Ruthie Gilor and Irit Grencel. The top half of the draw could see the Kamzel and Polatinsky playing for a place in the final, while in the bottom half Gilor and Grencel could be facing up against each other for the final playoff. Gilor could have her hands full, first having to counter Tzila Gavish, a high-ranking player and a former international.
In the men's section, originally with eight seeded players, top seed Zvika Hadar was a first-round casualty, while last weekend eighth-seeded Denis Phillips went out against Israel Zifrot. The remaining seeds in the top half of the draw are Haviv Taikin, Colin Silberstein and George Kaminsky, while the bottom half includes Boaz Marcus, Raymond Sher and Alan Saitowitz, who accounted for Danny Keet.
An exciting new prospect is 17-year-old Aviv Ovadia, who already, in his debut last year, showed promising potential. He remains in the draw after having first accounted for Dedi Hakak, a member of Israel's recent international squad, and thereafter seeing off highly-rated Dani Slodovnik, a previous Masters runner-up. Ovadia plays together with his father and mother at the Savyon club. He will, however, be severely tested in his next game against the international Sher.
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