Nick Rohn had a productive first day at the District XI AAA boys singles tennis championships, advancing to the quarterfinals where he’s among eight players remaining who are looking to claim the title.

On a chilly Monday at Lehigh University, Rohn and Nick Demjan, who also earned a berth to the district singles championship, began their journey through the brackets on the opening day of the tourney.

Rohn’s first opponent was Bangor’s Evan Gordon. He defeated the Slater 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the next round.

He followed that with a victory over Ethan Gabay from Easton, clipping the Red Rover 6-3, 6-1 to make it to the quarterfinals.

Demjan also had an opening round win, defeating Freedom’s Advay Deshmukh 6-4, 2-6, 10-1.

In that match, Demjan scored on some nice drop shots, as well as some passing shots to help earn the first-round win.

His next opponent was top-seeded Sean Jaeger from Emmaus. Demjan lost 6-0,6-0 to end his bid for a title.

Rohn has had success in the postseason before, reaching the No. 2 singles consolation finals in last year’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tennis tournament.

In his match against Gordon, Rohn said that his forehand helped him tilt the match in his favor.

“I was really keeping it consistent and I was putting where I wanted,” said Rohn.

He also said that his serve was working in his favor, a part of his game that’s been a big key to his successful season at No. 1 singles this year.

Rohn said his serve really played a big factor in winning his second match against Gabay.

“It was working very well today,” said Rohn.

On a day where the elements also played a role, his big serve helped cut down those other variables. He had to deal with gusty winds, but his powerful serve helped alleviate some of that, especially in the first match. By the second match the wind had abated and he got his serve really rolling against Gabay.

Rohn’s draw in the quarterfinals is Pleasant Valley’s Josh Schaffner. Schaffner, the No. 4 seed, is entering the quarters after surviving a tough tiebreaker, defeating Parkland’s Dan Zolatarev, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4).

The two will square off Wednesday at Parkland when the tournament resumes.

Rohn will now look to make it to the semifinals by repeating how he played in his second match against Gabay.

“I’m pretty much going to stay loose, keep calm, and put the ball where I want it,” said Rohn.

If he advances to the semifinals, he’ll most likely meet Jaeger. The Green Hornet, who was last year’s district champ, didn’t drop a set in his two wins.