ROSEVILLE, CA - Riley Newman and Gabriel Tardio are into the semifinals of the Veolia Sacramento Open presented by Best Day Brewing after a 12-10, 11-9 victory over No. 2 seeds Ben Johns and James Ignatowich.

One of the key dynamics of the highly entertaining, firefight-filled match was Tardio’s effectiveness playing the right side, a role in which he’s become known to excel.

“For me, it’s a lot easier to attack on the right side,” shared the 18-year-old. “Being the right-side player, I feel like I have so many angles to work with and lots of speed-up opportunities.”

Tardio’s play, combined with Newman’s trademarked athleticism and intelligent decision-making, helped the tandem snag the win in two games, despite facing a 3-7 deficit in Game 2.

Both teams in the match were playing in their first tournaments together, but Newman feels like the consistent communication between him and Tardio helped them emerge victorious.

“Gabe and I had a total of one hour of practice before this tournament, so we’ve just been trying to do our roles well,” he said. “Our chemistry is high, and we’re communicating a lot, especially on middle balls. I feel like that can be tough for newer partnerships to figure out, but we’re doing it well.”

Newman and Tardio will look to keep the run going when they face No. 4 seeds Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin—another new pairing—in the semifinals.