Gabriel Tardio hits a pickleball forehand.
Gabriel Tardio competing at the Carvana Mesa Arizona Cup in February. PPA Tour

Dizon, Tardio rally to advance in mixed doubles

LAKEWAY, TX - Meghan Dizon and Gabriel Tardio are into the mixed doubles quarterfinals after their victory over No. 26 seeds Brooke Buckner and Collin Shick.

They had to rally from a game down to make it happen, but they got the win by making necessary adjustments to neutralize the drives of their opponents.

More specifically, they chose not to stack on the return at various points in the match’s later stages.

“They were hitting good serves and good drives and crashing really well, so we decided to just stay (instead of switch) so that we’d have more time to counter and to limit their opportunity to poach,” explained Tardio.

This 3-11, 11-5, 11-9 victory puts the No. 12 seeds into the quarterfinals, where they’ll face No. 4 seeds Anna Bright and Andrei Daescu.