Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns competing in the men's doubles final at the Fasenra Virginia Beach Cup presented by JOOLA.
Gabe Tardio and Ben Johns competing in the men's doubles final at the Fasenra Virginia Beach Cup presented by JOOLA. PPA Tour

New day, no problem: Johns, Tardio close out Johnson, Klinger for fifth straight title

Coming into Monday, Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio were six points away from taking the men’s doubles title.

It took them only six rallies, five minutes, and one server to score those six points and close out an 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 victory over No. 4 seeds JW Johnson/CJ Klinger.

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Tardio, who turned twenty years old on Sunday, played especially well throughout the contest and remained patient and steady on the right side in lengthy dink rallies at the kitchen line.

“That’s something I’ve been working on,” he said afterwards. “I think it’s especially important against JW and CJ because they have great hands, so I don’t want to be too aggressive. I know that we’re comfortable getting to the kitchen line and playing long points, so that was my plan. I didn’t want to try anything too fancy—just get to the line and let Ben take control.”

This result gives the top seeds their fifth straight title together since falling to Johnson/Klinger in the final of the Atlanta Slam back in May.

Johns spoke about how he’s seen this partnership flourish in recent months.

“The field is really strong. We’ve had a lot of tough matches, and not just in finals; we’ve had some semifinals and even some quarterfinals that have been pretty tight. It’s cool to win a lot in a field that’s clearly very strong right now, but I feel like it’s a testament to Gabe getting better and better, and myself getting better with him as a partner. There is still stuff we can get better at, too, and that’s how we’ll try to remain ahead of the field,” he mentioned.

Johns and Tardio will look to make it six in a row at the upcoming Rate Vegas Cup, which is set for Oct. 20-26 in Las Vegas, NV.