DAMION Johnson and Micheala Stephens enter the 2016 JN Open Tennis Championships as the men’s and women’s top seeds in the singles as action gets underway at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston, starting today at 9:00 am.

With reigning men’s singles champions Rowland “Randy” Phillips not able to defend his title, Jamaica’s number one player Johnson is the hot favourite for the title.

Johnson won the title four consecutive years — from 2011 to 2014 — before overseas-based Phillips topped him in last year’s final.

Second seed Dwayne Pagon, third seed Marcus Malcolm, fourth seed Jeremy Miller, fifth seed Jacob Bicknell and sixth seed Yussuf Migoko are all expected to compete.

Fifth-seeded Bicknell would be the player who poses the most danger for Johnson if he continues the form that he is currently enjoying. But after defeating second seed Pagon, he lost to Johnson in a third-set super tiebreaker in the Swept Away Open Tennis Tournament final in Negril last month.

Johnson along with other seeded players have gained first-round byes in the JN Open. He will play the winner of the first-round encounter featuring tenth-seeded Brandon Meadley and Anthony Burgess in the second round, possibly tomorrow.

At 9:00 am the men’s open singles action will get underway with Roger Lyn Snr vs Christopher Barrett, Dwayne Lue Shing vs Rushane Henry, and Dane Vernon vs Paul Kenny.

The men’s fixtures continue at 10:30 am with Marlon Hosang vs Richard Blake, Oshane Wright vs Karan Chatani, Steven Priestley vs Cole McNair; and at 11:30 am Joel Jones takes on Jason Calloo, while Brandon Meadley faces Anthony Burgess Jnr.

In the women’s open singles, Stephens, who is both Jamaica’s top senior and junior women’s player, is expected to advance easily to the second round this afternoon against Katherine Dibbs.

Third seed Shea-Ann Kameka will face unseeded Simone Hudson in first-round action, while other matches scheduled are Onika Shaw vs Amanda Campbell, Kailey Chin vs Gabrielle Bernard, and Haley McNair vs Iesha Sterling.

In the amateur Men’s Class Two today, top seed Leighton Burton, Ricardo Chambers, Barry Hazel, Shadaine Douglas, Stephen Shirley and Stephen Todd will get down to business.

The Men’s Class Three singles will see Ricardo Livingston entering the competition at number one, followed by Warrenton Dixon, Alric Sproul, Alvin Wint, Craig Lewis Mayne, and Jevon Hudson.