
Johns sets finals clash with Staksrud
CARY, NC - For the third time in his past three tournaments, Ben Johns will play for singles gold.
He took down No. 5 seed Christian Alshon 6-11, 11-7, 11-5 on a windy Saturday morning at Cary Tennis Park.
Like he did in his quarterfinal match against Quang Duong, Johns dropped the first game on what he called “the bad side”—the side where he had to hit into the wind.
But the top seed evened things up on the good side with the wind at his back to force a decider.
Knowing he would start Game 3 back on the bad side, Johns knew that he needed to get off to a strong start.
“The most important thing was getting to six or at least a good number of points early in Game 3 so that I could go into the good side with some momentum,” he said.
That’s exactly what he did, jumping out to a 6-2 as the players switched sides.
Johns would go on to close out the match from there to book his spot on Championship Sunday.
He’ll face No. 2 seed Federico Staksrud, who beat Connor Garnett earlier on Saturday, for the men’s singles title.
Related articles

The best fan-made signs from MLP
There were countless standout creations this season.
1 hour ago
-Victoria Radnothy

PPA Tour Asia announces LT Pro 48 as official ball
This comes as welcome news for the US-based pros who frequently compete overseas, as the PPA Tour and PPA Tour Asia will now use the same ball.
1 day ago
-Pickleball.com Staff

'Goldin' moment: Grayson Goldin claims first PPA Tour title six months after stroke
Half a year after his career was halted as a result of suffering two strokes, Grayson Goldin captured his first career PPA Tour title at the Skechers Shenzhen Open.
2 days ago
-Pickleball.com Staff

Why is Anna Leigh Waters so dominant? Zane Navratil explains
There are countless factors that separate her from the rest of the field.
5 days ago
-Pickleball.com Staff