JW Johnson/Gabe Tardio claimed the second spot in the men’s doubles final in Tucson with an 11-8, 11-5 victory over No. 13 seeds Rafa Hewett/Noe Khlif.

But this contest had a little more at stake than just a trip to Championship Sunday.

Hewett/Khlif won this matchup in a Round of 16 clash at last month’s PPA Masters, but Johnson/Tardio earned some revenge on Saturday evening.

The No. 2 seeds actually trailed 4-8 in the opening game, but they scored the next seven points from there to take Game 1 and went on to close out the match in two games.

With this result, Tardio joins Kaitlyn Christian as the only players to be in the running for a title in Tucson after also winning titles last week at the Proton Australia Pickleball Open in Melbourne.

The 19-year-old left that tournament with gold in men’s singles and men’s doubles with Tyson McGuffin. He described the challenges of competing in two continents within the span of just a few days.

“It’s definitely been tough. I had two Tuesdays with the different time zones, so it was a little time travel for me,” he said. “I feel like both Tyson and JW have carried me in different ways at these past two tournaments. I’m super excited to try and go back-to-back tomorrow, and hopefully we can get it done.”

No. 4 seeds Christian Alshon/Andrei Daescu await in the final.