Mixed doubles action got underway today at the Picklr Utah Open. The top seeds were Anna Bright and James Ignatowich. With no Anna Leigh Waters, Ben Johns, Christian Alshon or Catherine Parenteau in the field the draw was a bit more open than usual. Let’s breakdown how the day unfolded.
Ignatowich ramps up the pace
James Ignatowich likes to play fast. Put him indoors and at altitude and he becomes even more dangerous. Teams struggled stopping the first strike attacks from Ignatowich and Bright today. They did drop a few games along the way but they responded by coming out strong in game 3, especially against Hayden Patriquin and Lea Jansen, their toughest match of the day. In the semifinals they ran through Jaume Martinez Vich and Mary Brascia 11-4, 11-4. It was a strong return to the PPA Tour for Mary after some time off. She’ll play for a bronze medal on Sunday.
Tardio hot streak continues
On the bottom half of the draw Gabe Tardio continues to knock down whoever stands in his path. He and Jessie Irvine took down JW and Jorja Johnson 11-6, 11-8 in the quarterfinals, mixing up their court positioning throughout, which seemed to confuse the siblings from the very beginning. It begs the question if Tardio should play more mixed doubles on the right, given his success on that side of the court in men’s doubles. In the semifinals, they defeated Pablo Tellez and Mari Humberg who had a nice run defeating Frazier/Black and Bar/Pisnik.
Ignatowich and Bright will be the favorites on Sunday but expect Tardio and Irvine to play like they have nothing to lose. It should be an entertaining final as the mixed looks from the underdogs may be enough to keep the top seeds off their game.
On the Horizon
Gender doubles kicks off at 11AM MT tomorrow. All eyes will be on Rachel Rohrabacher and Anna Bright in the women’s draw. On the men’s side Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson will be looking to get back in the gold medal circle after suffering an early loss last week in Bristol.
