All the top players return for the Rate Las Vegas Open, beginning Monday from the Darling Tennis Center. Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, and Gabe Tardio all skipped PPA Mesa, but are back in their usual top seeded positions, contributing to the very competitive draws we will see in Las Vegas. PPA Mesa saw the young guns with breakout performances; can they continue their rise in Las Vegas?

 

 

 

Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns assume their usual spot as the #1 seed. They have a bye into the Round of 16. That means fewer matches, but also means they have to start against tougher opponents right out of the gate. As we saw in Mesa, that can lead to an upset in the very first match for a top-seeded team. In Las Vegas, the draw is favorable for Tardio and Johns, and their first test will come in the quarterfinals where one of three teams is likely to emerge to face them; #8 James Delgado and Tyson McGuffin, #12 Will Howells and Pablo Tellez, or #29 Casey Diamond and Max Freeman. Diamond has been playing well, while Howells/Tellez missed a golden opportunity for a deep run at Mesa. I like Howells and Tellez to bounce back and put up a good challenge for Tardio and Johns in the quarters.

 

Each of the top four seeds get a bye into the Round of 16. The next section of the draw is headed by a new pairing of Eric Oncins and CJ Klinger. Their part of the draw includes #5 Dylan Frazier and Len Yang, #14 Jaume Martinez Vich and Nico Acevedo, and #19 Tyler Loong and Rafa Lenhard. Acevedo had a breakout PPA event in Mesa with Yuta Funemizu. It will be interesting to see if Acevedo stays on the left with JMV. I would keep Acevedo on the left; if they do, I like Acevedo and Martinez Vich to break through to the semifinals.

 

In the bottom half of the draw, the #2 seed is Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu. They took gold in Mesa, with Alshon on the left. Their quarter of the draw is the weakest section, so look for them to make at least the semifinals. They will need to get by the winner of a Round of 32 match between #7 Jack Sock and Augie Ge vs. #26 Luca Mack and Anouar Braham. I like Mack and Braham in an upset there.

 

Finally, the bottom quarter of the draw has #3 seed Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud. Staksrud’s one-time partnership in Mesa with Ben Johns was a disaster. Expect him to bounce back in his more familiar spot next to Patriquin. Their section of the draw contains #6 Roscoe Bellamy and Connor Garnett and #9 Collin Johns and Hunter Johnson. But, I expect the toughest challenge may come from teenagers Elliott Schupp and John Lucian Goins. Schupp had a great run in mixed doubles with Kiora Kunimoto in Mesa, and Goins has been improving every event. I do not think they can beat Patriquin and Staksrud, but I do like them to win a couple upsets and face the #3 seed in the quarters.

 

The early round matches are great to watch to spot the up-and-coming teams. But in the end, I like Johns and Tardio to face Patriquin and Staksrud in the finals.

 

 

Anna Bright and Anna Leigh Waters are back in action as the top seed. They get a bye into the Round of 16, and so just need to win four matches for the gold. They have a very good draw, and I do not see anyone who can challenge them prior to the final (if then). In the top half of the draw are #4 Jamie Wei and Meghan Dizon, #5 Zoey Wang and Milan Rane, #7 Layne Sleeth and Alix Truong, and #10 Lucy Kovalova and Mari Humberg. Of those new or fairly new partnerships, the Kovalova and Humberg one looks like the best fit. Kovalova can still play a steady right side, while Humberg is one of the best left side power players among the women.

 

In the bottom half of the draw, the #2 seed goes to Tyra Black and Catherine Parenteau. I think their biggest test will come from #9 Tina Pisnik and Sofia Sewing. The Palm Beach Royals pair from MLP have played well together and I expect them to upset #8 Kaitlyn Christian and Allyce Jones.

 

The #3 seed is Lacy Schneemann and Kate Fahey. Fahey has upped her doubles game considerably. Schneemann is perhaps the most up-and-down player on the women’s side. Their part of the draw includes #6 Lea Jansen and Jessie Irvine. The very bottom of the draw includes a very interesting Round of 32 match between #12 Kiora Kunimoto and Judit Castillo vs. #24 Victoria DiMuzio and Daria Walczak. Look for Kunimoto and Castillo to win that one and potentially upset Jansen and Irvine.

 

In the end, this event is going to be all Bright and Waters. It is possible they will lose less than 20 points in their four matches, and I do not expect them to lose a game. I do like #9 Pisnik and Sewing to come out of the bottom half of the draw in a series of upsets.

 

 

#1 seed Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns get a bye into the Round of 16. Waiting for them is likely the winner of a great Round of 64 match between #15 Lea Jansen and Jack Sock and #44 Sofia Sewing and Casey Diamond. Do not let the low seed assigned to Sewing and Diamond fool you; they are one of the 10 best teams in the draw, and I expect them to win two matches and face Waters and Johns. Of course, beating Waters and Johns is a whole ‘nother story.

 

The next quarter of the draw includes #4 Tyra Black and Gabe Tardio, #6 Catherine Parenteau and Eric Oncins, #14 Meghan Dizon and Will Howells, and #19 Isabelle Dunlap and Nico Acevedo. Any of these four teams could come out of this section, likely to face Waters and Johns in the semifinals.

 

In the bottom half of the draw, the #2 seed goes to Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin. They get a bye into the Round of 16, but there they could well face another pairing of teenage upstarts, #34 Kiora Kunimoto and Elliott Schupp. Kunimoto and Schupp showed in Mesa they can play with anyone. Could they have another great run in Las Vegas?

 

The #3 seed is Tina Pisnik and Christian Alshon. Pisnik replaces Alshon’s usual partner, Rachel Rohrabacher. Pisnik is a good fit, so this team should do well. Their main obstacle is a likely quarterfinal match against #5 Jessie Irvine and Andrei Daescu.

 

This event has the look of another epic final between the top two seeds.

 

 

By far, the hardest event to win twice in a row is men’s singles. Chris Haworth won in Mesa, and he gets the #1 seed in Las Vegas. There is no such thing as an easy draw in men’s singles, but Haworth does appear to have a relatively smooth road to the semifinals. #6 Connor Garnett and #8 John Lucian Goins stand in his way.

 

Also in the top half of the draw are #4 Christian Alshon and #19 Ben Johns. They will likely play each other in the quarterfinals. Alshon is playing very well, and I would expect him to win that one.

 

In the bottom half of the draw are #2 Federico Staksrud and #3 Hunter Johnson. They played an epic semifinal in Mesa, and are poised for a semifinal rematch in Las Vegas, if the seeds hold. Staksrud’s main obstacle is #13 Rafa Lenhard, while Johnson faces a more crowded section of the draw that includes #5 Roscoe Bellamy and #20 Eric Oncins.

 

As usual, the men’s singles draw includes great Round of 64 matches. This week, we will see #23 Yates Johnson against #29 Cam Chaffin and #12 Adam Harvey against #44 Nico Acevedo.

 

We rarely see back-to-back men’s singles finals that are repeats, but I will go against the grain and predict a rematch from Mesa, with Haworth taking on Staksrud in Las Vegas.

 

 

Anna Leigh Waters sits out singles in Las Vegas, giving everyone else hope for a rare gold medal. Fahey will get tested early by the winner of #5 Kiora Kunimoto vs. #9 Jalina Ingram. #4 Zoey Wang and #15 Zoey Weil are also in the top half of the draw. Weil played very well in MLP DreamBreakers; I look for her to have a good singles run in Las Vegas.

 

In the bottom half of the draw, we have #2 Kaitlyn Christian, #3 Lea Jansen, #6 Judit Castillo, and #7 Genie Bouchard. But, I actually like #23 Sofia Sewing to make her mark in Las Vegas, getting to her first PPA singles final. Sewing has been doing well at PPA singles, but has not yet had a signature win and breakout event. I look for that to occur in Las Vegas.

 

The weather forecast for Las Vegas is for high temperatures around 90. After North Carolina and Mesa, that should be welcome relief for the players. Tune in to Pickleballtv for broadcast coverage.

 

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