CARY, NC – Fifth-seeded Christian Alshon and 37th-seeded James Ignatowich battled in the Round of 32 at the Fanatics Sportsbook North Carolina Open. 

This marked Ignatowich’s return back to pickleball after a brief absence due to injury.

With Anna Bright in the crowd cheering him on, Ignatowich took the first game 12-10. 

However, there was a clear shift after that. Alshon rallied with a vengeance and secured the victory with 11-3, 11-7 triumphs in the second and third game, respectively.

“James has been retired for some time now. He was a really good singles player, but I think he lost the endurance,” said Alshon. “Pickleball is a hard sport, especially when you’re playing singles.” 

For his part, Alshon plays singles on a regular basis, and his endurance was too much for Ignatowich to handle this time around.

Alshon will face ninth-seeded Gabriel Joseph on Thursday.

“In every tournament I think I can go all the way to Championship Sunday,” said Alshon. “But, men’s singles is tough. You can get taken out in the first round just as easily as the semi-finals. There’s a lot of good competition out there.”