Anna Bright/JW Johnson closed out Friday’s mixed doubles action at the Veolia Cape Coral Open presented by Proton with an 11-7, 11-6 victory over No. 3 seeds Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon.

The hyperathletic Alshon tried to impose his will on the match, but Bright and Johnson read his attacks well and countered them time and again in the final bout of the day on Humana Championship Court.

This is just the first tournament that Bright and Johnson have played together, but they ran through the draw without dropping a single game through five matches.

“It’s been really fun all day,” Bright said of the new partnership. “We’ve been pretty relaxed and telling jokes. I think J-Dub’s calm, cool demeanor is rubbing off on me a little bit, and we’ve just been playing great together. I feel like I just grind until he gets a ball out of the air.”

Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns await in the final. Bright took the win in her most recent match against the top seeds alongside Dekel Bar a few weeks ago in Mesa.

She says that result, which was Waters and Johns’ first loss since March of 2024, gives her some extra confidence going into Sunday’s contest.

“There’s definitely another level of belief, but J-Dub and Dekel I’d say are two very different players,” she noted. “They’re both really heavy-handed, which is definitely important against that team, but we’ll have to watch back some of the adjustments that [Anna Leigh and Ben] have made at this tournament, and I’m sure it’ll be a great match.”

We’ll see if another upset is in the making on Sunday in southwest Florida.