Just over a month ago, JW Johnson/CJ Klinger defeated Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin in the quarterfinals of the Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships.

Both pairings are back in the quarterfinals in Southern California, but it took three games from each of them to get the job done on Wednesday.

Johnson/Klinger defeated No. 13 seeds Julian Arnold/Pat Smith 5-11, 11-8, 11-4 in a contest that had nearly as many “Andiamo!” yells from Arnold as high-octane hands battles.

Arnold—who made the semifinals at this event in 2024 and won a Major League Pickleball championship in San Clemente the year before that—came out on fire and found particular success with his two-handed backhand speedups off the bounce.

But Johnson/Klinger, just like they did during their title run in the Georgia capital, hunkered down and proved to be too solid at the kitchen line in key moments to pull off the comeback.

“I definitely know what Julian is capable of,” Klinger said of Arnold’s performance after the match. “He brings a lot of energy to the table, a lot of tricky shots, and some good hands. But JW and I stayed calm and cool, and that helped us prevail at the end of the day.”

The No. 4 seeds will face either Tyson McGuffin/Noe Khlif or Hunter Johnson/Augie Ge on Friday.

At the same time on Carvana Grandstand Court, Staksrud/Patriquin battled past No. 16 seeds and first-time partners Jay Devilliers/Grayson Goldin by a 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 score line.

In that deciding game, the No. 2 seeds trailed at 5-7 and 8-9 but used a timely three-point run to advance and avoid a massive upset.

They will face Lucky Losers Riley Inn/Luke Williams—who beat No. 12 seeds Tyler Loong/Spencer Smith on Thursday—next with a spot in the semifinals on the line.