Johns showcases resiliency in quarters victory over Duong
SAN CLEMENTE, CA - The most decorated player in pickleball history doesn't panic when things aren't necessarily going his way.
No. 2 Ben Johns was trailing No. 6 Quang Duong 8-2 in the opening game of their quarterfinal singles match on Friday at the Select Medical Orange County Cup presented by FitVine Wines, before stringing together nine consecutive points to win the stanza 11-8.
Johns found himself in another scoreboard hole in the second frame, but he ultimately triumphed 11-9 to oust Duong and secure a berth in the semi-finals.
"In both games, once I was down, I just wanted to hit bigger serves than I was consistently throughout the match," he explained. "It felt like I kind of went bombs away on the serve, made most of them, and got a few return errors. That tightened the game up and I made a few clutch shots when it really mattered, but I think the key was serving bigger at the right moments."
Johns will face the winner of the match between No. 11 Chris Haworth and No. 51 Grayson Goldin on Saturday.
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