LIVE BLOG: Wednesday's results and news from the Fontainebleau
It was an eventful Round of 32 Day at The Las Vegas Pickleball Cup.
Check out some of Wednesday's highlights from Sin City.
6:55 p.m. PT: Tactical adjustments help Sock, Shick outlast Ignatowich, Freeman
Jack Sock and Collin Shick overcame two sizeable deficits in their 3-11, 12-10, 11-7 victory over No. 12 seeds James Ignatowich and Max Freeman in the Round of 32.
They faced the first of those deficits down 3-8 in Game 2, after having already dropped the first game.
It was at this point that the No. 22 seeds made an important adjustment: moving Sock from the left side—where he usually plays—to the right side.
This put Shick across from the lefty Freeman and created patterns that helped the tandem come back to take the second game 12-10.
Shick remained on the left side to start off Game 3, but it didn’t have near the same success; he and Sock fell into an 0-5 hole in just a few minutes.
At that point, Sock returned to the left side and took over the match. He sparked a run with two consecutive fourth-shot volley poaches, and the North Carolina duo would go on to score 11 out of the final 13 points to secure the win.
Even though Sock playing the right hasn’t been a common sight on tour this year, he says that it is something he does in training.
“We do it at home a lot, practicing working on stuff together so that we always have that to fall back on, and it worked in Game 2,” he shared. “It was a horrendous idea in Game 3 to start, but I went back to my home on the left side, and we grinded it out.”
Sock and Shick will face No. 7 seeds Dekel Bar and Zane Navratil in Thursday’s Round of 16.
5:00 p.m. PT: Cassidy, Brown stun McGuffin, Martinez Vich in three games
Rob Cassidy and Marshall Brown are into the men’s doubles Round of 16 after an 11-9, 3-11, 11-8 upset victory over No. 5 seeds Tyson McGuffin and Jaume Martinez Vich.
The No. 26 seeds came out strong and surprised their opponents to take a highly competitive first game, but McGuffin and Martinez Vich found their footing in the second and cruised to a win to bring on Game 3.
In the decider, Cassidy and Brown found themselves facing a 3-7 deficit, just four points from defeat. But some heroics from Cassidy—including a sliding ATP—helped them end the match on an 8-2 run to seal the victory.
Not bad for never having played together before this week.
“It’s a first-time partnership, but it feels like we’ve been playing together for a long time,” Brown shared. “We’re communicating well, and we know whose balls are whose. It’s so much fun playing with Rob.”
On Thursday, the pair will face the winner of the match pitting Gabriel Tardio and Andrei Daescu against AJ Koller and Roscoe Bellamy.
4:10 p.m. PT: Parenteau, Newman overcome slow start to defeat Erokhina, Bellamy
Catherine Parenteau and Riley Newman and are into the Round of 16 after a 12-10, 11-5 victory over No. 40 seeds Genie Erokhina and Roscoe Bellamy.
Despite the overall positive final result, it was a tough start for the tandem. They found themselves trailing 2-10 in the first game, but they saved six games points on their way to an impressive comeback to take it, 12-10.
The momentum from the rally carried them to an 11-5 triumph in Game 2.
This is Parenteau and Newman's first time playing together since 2022, but they have an extensive history of competing as a partnership and have earned 15 PPA medals together.
The No. 6 seeds will face No. 20 seeds Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
2:45 p.m. PT: Todd, Johnson upset Brascia, McGuffin in high-scoring affair
The No. 20 seeds Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson defeated 12th-seeded Maggie Brascia and Tyson McGuffin 11-7, 12-10.
2:25 p.m. PT: Waters, Johns too much for Bouchard, Y. Johnson in mixed doubles
The top-seeded tandem of Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns needed only 23 minutes to secure a berth in the Round of 16 with a convincing 11-3, 11-4 victory over Genie Bouchard and Yates Johnson.
During the post-match interview, PickleballTV broadcaster Michelle McMahon asked Waters a fun question: "What the heck does a 17-year-old do in Las Vegas?"
"I've actually been coming here since I was like five years old. One time, we stayed for like two weeks. I've actually been here a lot, so I know all the good spots that are great for underage kids," she replied with a laugh. "I love the restaurants. The food here is great. The shopping is amazing, so I go shopping with my mom. When I was little, I used to go to Circus, Circus with my grandparents and I'd do all the fun circus games there. I still want to go on the roller coaster here. I want to go every year, but somehow I just never end up going on it, so there's a lot of things to do."
2:05 p.m. PT: Khlif impressive, ousts Garnett in three games
No. 33 Noe Khlif accomplished a notable feat on Wednesday afternoon by besting one of the top singles players in the business, No. 2 Connor Garnett, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4.
Khlif will face Tardio in the Round of 16.
1:15 p.m. PT: Duong cruises, showing no signs of fatigue from travel
No. 5 Quang Duong was competing in India just a few days ago, before returning stateside to make the Las Vegas tour stop.
The youngster clearly got some rest on the long flight home because he was picture perfect against No. 31 Michael Loyd, posting an 11-3, 11-3 win in just under 20 minutes.
Duong will face No. 9 Pablo Tellez in the Round of 16.
12:55 p.m. PT: Bacalla almost causes another surprise, but falls to Tardio
No. 50 Dave Bacalla made headlines on Tuesday by defeating No. 15 Hayden Patriquin, and he came out firing again on Wednesday versus No. 19 Gabe Tardio.
Bacalla won the opening game 11-7 to get started on the right foot, before Tardio responded with 11-5, 11-6 triumphs of his own to seal the victory and advance to the Round of 16.
12:30 p.m. PT: Y. Johnson upsets JW Johnson to punch Round of 16 ticket
No. 18 Yates Johnson defeated No. 10 JW Johnson in straight games, 11-9, 11-3, to ensure his singles journey continues.
Johnson will face No. 8 Jaume Martinez Vich on Thursday.
12:15 p.m. PT: Staksrud takes care of business after early struggles against H. Johnson
After dropping the opening game to No. 26 Hunter Johnson, top seed Federico Staksrud battled back to ultimately earn a 4-11, 11-8, 11-0 triumph and advance to the Round of 16.
No doubt it was a frustrating result for Johnson, who was just three points shy of putting Staksrud away in the second stanza.
The talented Argentinian, however, wouldn't be denied.
"It was a combination of Hunter playing really well and I was kind of slow with my legs. He was passing me left and right... He was playing really good cat and mouse and dropping, and he was making me guess, so there's a lot of things that I need to go back and look what happened there and try to adjust for next time because he got me," said Staksrud. "Honestly, five more minutes of that [second] game, and he was going to go through."
11:50 a.m. PT: Alshon withdraws from singles, Koller advances
No. 4 Christian Alshon withdrew from the singles portion of the tournament as he continues to recover from foot surgery.
That means that No. 41 AJ Koller advanced to the Round of 16 to face No. 20 Eric Roddy.
Alshon will still compete in gender doubles and mixed doubles competition in Las Vegas.
11:35 a.m. PT: Fahey stays hot, downs Castillo in straight games
No. 17 Kate Fahey upset No. 9 Judit Castillo 11-3, 11-1 to advance to the Round of 16.
The University of Michigan product needed just 22 minutes to get the job done.
Fahey will face No. 5 Mary Brascia on Thursday.
She's brimming with confidence after claiming gold at The Picklr Utah Open earlier this week with a victory over Kaitlyn Christian.
11:25 a.m. PT : Waters enjoys successful return to singles, powers past Ronney
World No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters needed just 18 minutes to secure an 11-1, 11-4 victory over No. 38 Julia Ronney on Humana Championship Court.
Waters was participating in singles competition on the PPA Tour for the first time since the Select Medical Orange County Cup in June, where she claimed gold.
The 17-year-old phenom will face No. 13 Jorja Johnson in the Round of 16 on Thursday after No. 24 Allyce Jones elected to withdraw from singles due to injury.
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