Zane Ford competing at the CIBC Texas Open presented by Fasenra.
Zane Ford competing at the CIBC Texas Open presented by Fasenra. PPA Tour

Ford upsets Johns in three games to reach quarters

Zane Ford pulled off the upset of the day in men’s singles with an 11-8, 7-11, 11-3 victory over No. 2 seed Ben Johns.

The No. 17 seed seemed poised to close out the contest in two games when he earned a 4-1 lead in the second game, but Johns rallied to force a decider.

Not deterred by having to play a deciding game for the third straight match, Ford caught fire in Game 3 and practically sprinted to the quarterfinals in North Texas.

 

Ford was especially impressive in cat-and-mouse points. Johns dominates those rallies against most opponents, but Ford found success using angles topspin rolls to pull Johns out of position at the kitchen line on multiple occasions.

The 20-year-old spoke about the role that fortitude played in the triumph.

“I’ve been working a lot on my mental game,” he shared. “I think today I was just trying to have fun and not be so hard on myself. [Ben] is a great player—you’ve got to play your best to beat him, and I think I did that today.”

Ford will face No. 7 seed Christian Alshon next with a spot in the semifinals on the line.