
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
Related articles

Legendary Fortnite player Tfue talks pickleball: 'I had my fair share of getting whooped by the elderly'
He put his skills on display during the Celebrity Pickleball Showdown at Worlds.
8 hours ago
-Victoria Radnothy

Pickleball pop culture recap for November 2025
It was another busy month in the picklesphere.
1 day ago
-Victoria Radnothy

Catherine Parenteau, Rachel Rohrabacher joining forces in 2026
The pair will play together on a full-time basis starting in January.
2 days ago
-Pickleball.com Staff

Wilson waging valiant health battle: 'I can never, ever take a deep breath'
Thomas Wilson shared a candid update during a YouTube livestream on Saturday.
4 days ago
-Matt Cudzinowski