New
Waters And Johns, Tuionetoa And Alshon Advance To Mixed Doubles Final
The pairings of Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns and Etta Tuionetoa/Christian Alshon will face off for mixed doubles gold in Atlanta after both teams picked up wins on Saturday afternoon.
Waters/Johns kicked things off with an 11-2, 11-6 victory over No. 9 seeds Tina Pisnik/Andrei Daescu.
That team had pushed the top seeds to three games when they faced off earlier this year in Tucson, but Waters/Johns put forth a dominant performance this time round.
Waters spoke about the importance keeping Daescu honest by moving him around at the kitchen line.
“Andrei is so tall, so I feel like you have to go around him to open up room in the middle,” she explained. “I think that’s what I was trying to do: move Andrei out and then let Ben come in and take an easier ball at Tina.”
In the second semifinal, Etta Tuionetoa/Christian Alshon triumphed in a three-game epic over No. 2 seeds Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson by a 12-10, 7-11, 12-10 score line.
The Johnsons had three game points at 10-9 in the opening game before Tuionetoa/Alshon reeled off three in a row to take it.
That wouldn’t be the only comeback of the epic encounter, however.
In the third game, it was the No. 4 seeds who gained a lead and had match point at 10-8.
Johnson/Johnson calmly brought it back to 10-10, but Tuionetoa/Alshon went on to close out the contest a few moments later with a combination of aggressive-yet-smart pickleball.
Tuionetoa reflected on what it took to secure the victory after over an hour and a half on court.
“It was kind of like one of those moments where you just black out and hope to connect with the ball, but kudos to Christian—he was really encouraging,” she said. “The Johnsons are such a tough team. The ball comes back hard, and their hands are so fast, so I’m just glad we pulled through.”
Regardless of how tomorrow goes, this win should give the Texas Ranchers teammates plenty of confidence ahead of next week’s MLP Austin event.
