The PPA Tour season resumed today after what felt like three long weeks off as the pros headed to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete at the Darling Tennis Center for singles on Thursday. Jay Devilliers was missing from the field but all the other top ranked males were in action. Let’s take a look at how the day unfolded.
Men’s Singles Championship: (1) Ben Johns vs (23) Aanik Lohani
Johns made what looked like a very difficult road to the finals look rather easy as he didn’t drop a single game. In the round of 16 he played (16) Quong Duang who is always a dangerous opponent but moved on in straight games winning 11-8, 11-4. In the QF it was the southpaw (8) Pablo Tellez who gave him a tough test in game 1 but Johns prevailed in straight games 11-8, 11-4. In the SF he faced (4) Connor Garnett who didn’t look comfortable from the jump as Johns stamped his ticket to his 10th men’s singles final of the year winning 11-1, 11-5.
On the other side Aanik Lohani put together a Cinderella type run that we have only seen two other times this season (Gabriel Joseph at the Takeya Showcase and Collin Shick at the Florida Open). Lohani isn’t a complete unknown having beat Jay Devilliers in singles a few tournaments prior but stringing together wins vs (10) Julian Arnold, (15) Hayden Patriquin and (6) JW Johnson was undoubtedly impressive. Lohani utilized his movement and his weapon of a two-handed backhand to keep his opponents guessing and off balance. He’ll be faced with taking out the best player in the world on Sunday so be sure to tune in to what will be a David vs Goliath matchup.
Women’s Singles Championship: (1) Anna Leigh Waters vs (2) Catherine Parenteau
No surprises on the women’s side today as Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau will square off in another singles final on Sunday. This will be their 6th time playing each other in a final and their 3rd in a row. All five previous meetings have gone in favor of the #1 seed.
With (5) Hurricane Tyra Black withdrawing, Anna Leigh had a bit of an easier road than normal. She defeated (8) Lina Padegimaite and (12) Dominque Schaefer in the QF and SF in straight games and will be looking for her 13th PPA singles gold medal of the season Sunday.
On the bottom half (6) Yana Newell and (7) Lauren Stratman withdrew so Parenteau had to face up and comer (10) Taylor Garcia in the QF who she defeated 8 & 4. In the SF (3) Mary Brascia pushed her to three games but it was too much Parenteau as she powered through game 3 clinching it 11-3.
On the Horizon
Mixed doubles kicks off tomorrow morning at 10PST on Amazon Prime. Some teams to keep an eye out for will be (4) McGuffin/Parenteau, (3) Bright/Ignatowich, and (11) Rettenmaier/Jade Kawamoto who are coming off a bronze medal together at PPA Kansas City.
