Gender doubles got underway on Saturday at the Veolia LA Open and there is plenty to talk about in the men’s and women’s doubles draws so let’s dive right in.
Men’s Doubles Championship: (1) Johns/Johns vs (4) McGuffin/Martinez Vich
The Johns brothers were tested in their men’s semifinal match vs (7) Augutus Ge and Connor Garnett. Ge’s ability to neutralize the attacks of Ben Johns and Garnett’s ability to attack the elder Johns off the bounce helped them secure game 1 11-5. However, the Johns did what they do best and made the proper adjustments to take the match in three games. They played patient and forced the opposition to beat them with low percentage attacks which ended up resulting in a high number of unforced errors.
On the opposite side of the draw it was the veteran Tyson McGuffin and the up and comer Jaume Martinez Vich who were able to advance with some hard fought wins over DJ Young/Tyler Loong and Zane Navratil/Travis Rettenmaier. McGuffin’s savvy play from the right side paired with Martinez Vich's athleticism put the opposition in a bind and eventually wore them down. They face an uphill climb in the 3 out of 5 dual tomorrow vs the #1 team in the world.
Women’s Doubles Championship (1) Bright/Rohrabacher vs (6) Schneemann/Glozman
Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher continue to mow down anything in their path. After winning the title in Houston just a week ago they’ll play for back-to-back titles tomorrow after not dropping a game in the draw today. Their toughest match came against the Brascia sisters who really pushed them in game 1 but couldn’t keep up that same level in game 2.
On the bottom half of the draw, we have a surprise finalist as Lacy Schneemann and Vivian Glozman battled their way past Lea Jansen/Lucy Kovalova and Etta Wright/Meghan Dizon. Glozman has been missing in action since the Hyundai Masters in January but clearly, she has been working on her game as she was calm and cool under pressure to close out both the quarterfinal and semifinal matches. They will face an absolute freight train in the finals but they have the firepower to go toe to toe in hands battles.
On The Horizon
Championship Sunday kicks off at 10am PST tomorrow morning beginning with women’s singles and ending with mixed doubles. Tune into PickleballTV to catch all the action.
