Dayan, Beasley shock Wilson, Sock to reach Round of 16
ROSEVILLE, CA - Naveen Beasley and Kevin Dayan are into the Round of 16 after a thrilling 11-3, 0-11, 11-9 victory over No. 8 seeds Jack Sock and Thomas Wilson.
The No. 30 seeds came out strong, finding success going right at their opponents with drives and speed ups en route to a dominant Game 1 performance.
Not surprisingly, Sock and Wilson corrected course in Game 2 and looked as if they were just finding their form going into the decider.
“We had a good start, and then in the second game they just caught fire,” Beasley said of the encounter. “We kind of knew that was gonna happen, and in the third game we just tried to survive.”
Game 3 was a testament to that survival, a back-and-forth battle of wills.
The teams switched sides midway through with Beasley and Dayan leading 6-4, but the pair watched the lead disappear and eventually found themselves trailing 6-9.
A key tactical change ensued.
“I realized I had been hitting drives the whole time on that side, so I decided to switch to hitting only drops,” Beasley shared. “We completely changed our strategy, and that really helped us.”
The tandem overcame that late deficit and eventually closed out Game 3 11-9 to secure the marquee victory.
Beasley and Dayan are into the Round of 16 with the win, and the pair are as a confident as ever.
“We have nothing to lose right now,” said Dayan. “We’re just gonna try and keep going and try to get some points on some more good teams.”
They’ll next face qualifiers Ryan Finley and Sam Angelo, who advanced by walkover over Pat Smith and Collin Shick.
Related articles
Which pros will have a Thanksgiving pickleball tournament?
Allyce Jones, Jack Sock, and Ben and Collin Johns will be playing a lot of pickleball later this week.
4 hours ago
-Victoria Radnothy
PPA Asia, MLP Asia coming to world’s most populous continent
This marks a significant milestone for the highest level of pickleball on a global scale.
21 hours ago
-Pickleball.com Staff
A wizard in the kitchen: How Anna Leigh Waters prepares her family’s Thanksgiving meal
Is there anything she can't do?
a day ago
-Victoria Radnothy