PALM SPRINGS, CA - The last time Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns squared off against Anna Bright and James Ignatowich, it didn’t go their way.

Even though they won that tournament despite the 8-11, 8-11 loss, the No. 1 seeds wanted to make sure they got back in the win column against the pair on Championship Sunday at the PPA Masters.

“I feel like they come out fresh and fast in the morning, and I typically don’t, so I needed a little more warmup time this morning,” Johns said. “After that, I felt like I came out and played pretty normally.”

The win wouldn’t come easily, though, as Waters and Johns faced firm resistance from their opponents.

In fact, the pair found themselves trailing late in games 2 and 3.

But the 27-time gold medalists brought out their best when the stakes were at their highest.

“Once it got tight at the end, I think they played a little more tentatively, and we played a little more aggressively, and that got us a few more points,” said Johns. “If you can play loose towards the end of the game, that’s usually very helpful.”