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Bright, Duong Outduel Fahey, Patriquin In Three-game Epic
Anna Bright/Quang Duong advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships with a highly entertaining 16-14, 5-11, 12-10 victory over No. 10 seeds Kate Fahey/Hayden Patriquin in what might be the match of the year so far on the PPA Tour.
The No. 5 seeds—playing together for the first time since Worlds—faced game point at 4-10 in the opening game, but they came all the way back to tie it at 10.
After six game point saves and nearly forty minutes on court, Bright/Duong took the opening contest 16-14.
Fahey/Patriquin, not deterred by losing a big lead in Game 1, rebounded and comfortably took the second to bring on a decider in front of a delighted crowd around Humana Championship Court.
In that third game, Bright/Duong got up 6-1 before teams switched sides. Fahey/Patriquin admirably brought it back to 9-9, but it was Bright/Duong who went on to prevail a few minutes later to close out an epic encounter that lasted over an hour and a half.
The contest featured three members of the St. Louis Shock in Bright, Fahey, and Patriquin.
Bright—the team captain for St. Louis—spoke about the added stakes of competing against her teammates.
“It was definitely a match that all of us were very excited for,” she mentioned. “I was texting with Hayden and Kate last night and talking some trash this morning, too. Even during the match, Hayden would chirp and we’d kind of smile at each other, but once it got to Game 3, it was all serious.”
Bright/Duong will face top seeds Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns on Friday with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
