Johns/Tardio vs Alshon/Patriquin at the SXY Newport Beach Open

Howard Hepworth's got us ready. Let's play Pickleball. Okay. Roll right up the line from Patrick Lynn. That shot actually has been getting better and better. The snap cross and the through the middle has been there forever. But the up the line has definitely been a nice addition to pair with those other two locations. Shock on shock crime to start. Second serve. Yes, Tardio and Patrick Lynn were innocent bystanders of the end right being cut. They thought one of them could be. Alshon in his paces. It's unbelievable. I mean, he really has like 10 different shots that he hits on the forehand side. Brought to the game and is on his way out of the kitchen and had no chance. Alshon just nodding his head like, okay, all right. You got me that time. I'm going to keep coming at you. Second serve. Again, just a reminder, best of five here. 0-1-2. I mean, Christian Alshon did everything he could and it's full Tardioness for the win. And the most impressive part of the incredible point from Gabe is he let the ball go out to finish. It's not his typical specialty. Nice hands there for Christian Alshon. And he is definitely the biggest wild card in X-Factor in this match. Second serve. 1-1-2. And tough one off the tape there. Christian's hit 15 different shots already in this match. A few from the back of the court, a few up at the kitchen line. The locations and the paces, a lot of variety. And how about that? Hold it. Where's it going? Right through the middle. 1-1-2. Oh, that's mine. In the noggin. In the noggin. Ben needed a helmet yesterday from a titleist. And now Gabe needs one from his buddy. He's got a nice puff of hair up there in the front, though. That helped. Flow is always good, baby. Geez, what a combination there. And Alshon's seeing the ball a lot. Sorry, Adam. No, no. Silky smooth lob. And then that mid pace with topspin through the middle. Ben can't even get there with the paddle. Cord to cord. And another thing to keep an eye on is the Christian Alshon forehand dink. That had a little bit of issues in that Austins-Fraser match. What a spot. Christian agrees because he said the same thing to his partner, Hayden Patrickwin. 4-1-1. Oh, my. Then does some sort of inside out little flick thing down the line. They have a nice little start here against the only seat higher than this. Second serve. Patrickwin sends it this time. I like that, though. He sends it, doesn't get what he wants, and you can kind of just see on that last ball, like, oh, shoot, they got me. Side out. That one is not the time for the slow pace. There is times for it. He has a lot of success going with that, a variety of pace. That last ball was up, though. Just go. Well, he just went on that volley right there. 1-5-2. Patrickwin, very nice. Yeah, it seems like there's not a lot of ball movement from Gabe or Ben. It's like they're just sticking with one player at the kitchen line and focusing on them point to point. Second serve. 5-1-2. Oh, man. Had to look. Just couldn't find the court. And Ben couldn't fully recover there because he kind of ran into Gabe. All worked out, though. 1-5-1. Second serve. Great punch counter from Christian Alshon. How about Gabe Tardio flying in, got a ball that he couldn't do anything with and just downy soft delicate in the kitchen. What a disaster of a return. Yeah, I kind of liked it because I knew it was going to be fun after that return. 2-5-2. That's the shot of the week for Ben Johns. 100 percent, so timeout called by Hayden and Christian. And do share with our... Song. So a point away from tied up after a beautiful 5-1 start from Patrickwin and Alshon. Side out. 5-4-1. Again, same pattern. And what a beautiful reload in paddle position on the second ball from Ben Johns. 5-4-2. OK. That is a wonderful bailout for Christian in the middle of a firefight. 6-4-2. Side out. Like, what is Hayden thinking when he, in his periphery, he sees Christian about to fire that ball? Hope I don't get hit, is what he's thinking. 5-6-1. Wow. And Gabe. The extra spin from Christian and it didn't matter. Gary Gabe still kept that ball in as Christian Alshon kicks the ball into the corner to get a little extra time after that one. Yeah. Snap it. 6-6-2. And not only have they come all the way back, they now have the lead. 7-6-2. Can't be can't be late on the slide. And Christian was on that one. Rechallenge timeout receiver. 8-6-2. 45 seconds. Adam, it looked glorious. All these off speeds and middle speed, but you'd love to try. Gabe has been doing that a lot with the two handed backhand. Big overheads coming his way and just rip it hard and low and earn a point for your team. 9-6-2. Just off speed through the middle is just getting killed. Carbon copy of about three or four minutes ago. All H can do is turn sideways in hopes to not get hit with the ball. Game point out of there. 11-6. Change hands. Come back for Patrick Wynn and Alshon and a frustrating game one ending. They all said the same thing. Different players. Same conclusion. Stable, repeatable, shot after shot. Easily one of the best paddles. No, the best paddle I've ever played with. The Diamond Grid and 6-0's innovation puts it back on top. Reviewer voted. All court paddle of the year. 6-0 Coral. Go next level. We were an inch from disaster. You miss a return after two hits to the face. Right, right. 0-0-2. Point. That wasn't the full serve we saw from Ben Johns earlier, but that was more than normal and got a return error. I mean, it's it's indefensible. Yeah, I'm just going to say the name Hayden Patrick Wynn. I want to say that more in this game and I need to say it more. That's number one. 0-1-1. Oh, my. Would you like to say the name Ben Johns flying through the air with all sorts of bad intentions? Oh, the old Gallop Ernie just takes a big old hop across and slaps midair. Gabe, it's a beauty. The swatting backhand after that initial forehand speed up. 0-1-1. Come on, man. Not normal. And that's why he is full of tardiness. Finds a forehand. 2-0-1. I mean, I don't know how he won it, but unfortunate. Do they need to full send it somewhere just to get some energy? I think so. Point. Second serve. All right, let's see this return from Christian. 4-0-2. There it is. A couple elbow tucks in the middle of that to protect the body from the fellas. 0-4-1. That was probably one of the best drive drop combos from Christian. And then a loose error on the backhand wing for Patrick Wynn. Wow. So Gabe actually laid off and then counters it down. Right by his head, too. Look at this. 4-0-1. Second serve. Got him. Rib cage. Beauty. 4-0-2. Wow. Off speed back behind him. Perfection. 5-0-2. Side out. Ben is having a word with Ben about two missed drives on that possession. Nasty. I mean, it's a crazy situation where if Ben and Gabe don't play their best, you have a chance. If you don't play your best, you get run out of the building. That's what it is. Even with there being a top four, possibly top five, with Dylan Frazier and Eric Onsen stepping up their game. Side out. Another quick possession. 5-0-1. 6-0-1. Wow. Perfect look at an overhead and it came back. You never know what can light that spark. Let's see if they can G.O. here, at least get on the board. You're telling me those two points happened and they didn't score? They did not. That's the way the scoring works here, Adam. Geez, come on. Wow. Missed it. Just deep. He missed it. They're going to challenge and lose here. He lost his topspin and Gabe almost never loses his topspin. Wow. Insane gets. I mean, look at the ball he had a look at there. So that's the one that's being challenged. He said the ball was in. Adam, he hit it perfect. What are you talking about? It's clinical right now. Textbook stuff. Absolute master class on men's doubles right now. I just don't know how Alshon and Patrick can get out of it if they're going to continue to play like this. That will not help the situation. 7-0-1. Oh, paddle stuck on the foot. Yes, yes. Thought that only happened to short people like us. I know. Lord knows it's happened to me. Side out. Huge return. Yeah, just no juice in this team. This is a team that thrives on it. 0-7-1. Pounders from Alshon. The fellas' hands are hot. Some of these exchanges, it's the points in between the adjusts that are one-way traffic. Second serve. Tough luck there off the tape. Yeah, we'll see if we get a rebuttal here from Patrick because two points ago, that Ben Jean shot was right at his head. In there. Oh, it glanced over for Christian, like, are you serious, man? Yeah. I mean, Ben of 2026 is one of the smiliest players we've got. Who would have thunk it? Second serve. He's also winning a lot, which he won a lot before that, though, too. So that is not the thing that's changed. Point. Referee timeout, we have a challenge of the out call. The result of the rally at 8-1-2, we'll proceed to video review. After reviewing the rally stance, the ball was out. No free challenge available, technical warning. No free challenge available. One free challenge available, resume play at 8-1-2. Hmm. Uh-oh. Oh, that's a Jeff Warnick. Jeff Warnick is going to get involved in this potentially. Yeah, if you guys know, if you're veterans of the sport, you know that name and that voice. Second serve. Yeah, he's been known to take over a match that he's not involved in as far as a player. 1-8-2. Side out. Hayden can't figure out forehand or backhand when that ball is coming right at his chest. And Howard Hepworth, our referee, kicked. No, he was aiming for the ball, and he did not kick the ball. No, he did not. It's World Cup season, and Howard will not be playing for the U.S. event. I mean, Ben's handled every last bit of offense that's come at him from Christian. I mean, if the lob isn't tricky with this level of athleticism on court, you will eat it. 9-1-1. Attitude with that put away. You guys think I only have whip on the backhand side? How's this? 1-9-1. That beautiful little angle. And to Christian's credit, his off-pace speed-ups have been line in this game. I understand it's 2-9, but... Second serve. I mean, Gabe just able to get there. 2-9-2. Perfect return. Side out. It actually landed just inside the line, so not quite perfect. Oh, I apologize, yes. I'll be better. Adam, I'll be better. Armpit, it's available on pretty much everybody else. Just not that guy. Game point. 10-2-1. Are they going to get out of this? Not with this one, probably. Oh, my, he did. Insane steel curtain level defense from Ben and Gabe. Are you kidding me? I don't even think Hayden's aware that that was game point. He's still waiting to play. Side out. 0-0-1. Second serve. 0-0-2. Okay. Nice switch over from Christian. Just a lead. Okay. Yeah, right. I mean, you had one at the beginning of game one, and that has been all Ben and Gabe. Again. Oh, man. When he flies through the air, it usually doesn't come back. That's three times. It has. It's a beautiful short hop from Hayden Patrick when... 0-1-1. Just not your ball. Yeah. Hayden's good at pickleball. I'd probably let him take that, even if he is transitioning forward. Second serve. I mean, Ben's philosophy with this team's first one there. About the same time. 1-1-2. No. No need to talk. If you get there first, you get it, and the record is what it is. It's incredible. And that would be 75-4 in case you were curious. I was looking for the exact number, so thank you. 95% winning percentage. 1-1-2. 26-6 on the team that's serving. In there again. Waves the Cobra, and that was way in. Yeah. That's the buggy whip. Alshon kind of spreads his arms like, oh, I let that one go. It's going to go out. Nope. Oh, payback. Yeah. Very similar shot, but on the backhand side for Christian. 1-1-2. Point. Man. 2-1-2. Side out. Two beautiful backhands off the bounce from Christian Alshon. And there's Jeff Warnick making his way through the beer tent. Oh, that's not surprising. 2-2-1. Second serve. 2-2-2. Side out. Yeah, I just don't know how that's going to work, flying in and then inside out. I mean, it's a funky flow to this one for sure. Second serve. And the lack of Patrick Wynne, I mean, it's incredible. 2-2-2. Yeah, there it is. That's good. Little baritone bark there from Christian Alshon, and that's one of the things with Patrick Wynne, as you mentioned, we haven't seen the vibe or a real pump-up coming from him in this entire match. Yeah, let's go, Troy. I mean, he's still swagalicious with the chain and the glasses and the hat, but the play is just, he hasn't seen the ball a ton. 3-2-1. Look at Ben know instantly that I've got to get back and defend an ATP. And now we're bringing those all the way back cross-court as a collective. Beautiful penetrating dink wide on Tardio. 4-2-2. Gabe will be playing at him. 5-2-2. Can't wait. That'll be later this summer. Wow, was he ready for the counter that time. He knew exactly where it was going, and again, consistently aligned with those speed-ups from Christian Alshon. Weird vibes, Dave, that we've been gathering from Patrick Wynne and Alshon. They are talented, they are good, and you can't give them any life. Point. Three points from forcing a fourth game. 8-2-2. There he is. That's the first float along the kitchen line that we've seen from Patrick Wynne. 9-2-2. Side out. 2-9-1. It really is. 2-9-2. Sorry, sorry, I like that. That's what Christian's... No, your partner's supposed to say I like it when you hit a bad shot, not you. There's a come on from Hayden. Okay, this is getting better. 9-3-1. Game point the other way to first, a fourth. Oh, boy. 10-3-1. That's in there. And gonna bring out any brooms in this one. Oh, AP. The juiciest right there from Ben High forehand. 1-0-2. That's lob less, fellas. Yes. And I love lobs. I do, too. I am infatuated with them, but not right now. Second serve. Two loose airs. And was it just a, oh, we're gonna kill these guys. They're out of sync, and they let their guard down in game three for Ben and Gabe, or is it something that's gonna linger? Off speed through the middle is O for, like, me batting against Paul Schemes. Just what are we doing? 1-1-2. Side out. 1-1-1. H. Hayden Patrick win. Finding some flow. And we've talked about it with him. Get the feet moving. We started to see that in game four. Second serve. I mean, you have to float like a butterfly to sting like a bee. That's step one. Yeah, if you're still in the chrysalis, you're not floating anywhere. Side out. I mean, how many overheads need to be just pummeled? I guess they've scrapped a couple, but I was gonna say, I guess a couple more. Christian has done a nice job with the backhand counter here today. Absolutely. Whether he's sliding or in just a regular standard position there on the right side with Patrick when starting it up. Gabe tried, and that's the thing. You got to go body. You can't go space. He made every effort to get to that. Even folded his hands over. Nice play there. And I know a lot of people don't like the full-on attacks at the body, but eyewear is an option. This is tournament type. This is cut throat, and there's a lot of benefits you get for hitting that shot. So I believe, personally, it's all fair game. And to be clear, we do not like it in racket. Oh, of course not. Absolutely not. I mean, this is best of five final out here on a PPA tour. Everything's in play. Side out. 2-4-1. There we go. He got one. A little more pace on it. Maybe I bunted. And also out of the air, not off the bounce, which helps the situation. Second serve. Yeah, Howard did not even go for the soccer move there. She was like, I've already shown you this is not my specialty. I mean, the tardio push in that chicken wing formation is it's second. No one else does that to the level he does. Second serve. OK. And if you are going to go mid pace, fake the force in. Like that was extra big on the loop there. Point. And had to genuflect after that. He can't believe he missed it. 5-3-2. Point. 6-3-2. Side out. OK, so now we have fans yelling back at Warnick to shut up. 3-6-1. OK. Good luck with that. First one home. First one there. The shoulder shimmy up the line, and knowing his boy Hayden Patrickwin is not going to allow that first one to completely beat him clean and ready for the combo. But there's Hayden strikes quickly. They're back within one. This really has been an interesting flow to this match. I can't quite figure it out. Oh, no. Side out. 6-5-1. There it is. Haven't been very many of those cross court. I mean, we've seen this match up where cross court been in H all day long. 7-5-1. Alshon covers his head in anguish, and it is H who tried to catch it. The palm wrist area leading in front of the paddle with the paddle lagging back. What deception from Tardio. Hammered. Second serve. 8-5-2. 5-8-1. That's just not available. It is in senior pro. That's a great ball right there. Great ball. But you just have to block out that section of the court in general totally. Side out. 8-5-1. Wow, swinging a miss and tags his buddy again. 8-5-2. It's crazy that Patrickwin came over and took that because Christian, he wasn't even going to do it. He was going to spin that ball up. Yes, he was. So empty points and empty trips galore. 5-8-2. Side out. I saw it long. Referee timeout. We have a challenge of the out call. The result of the rally is 8-5-1. We'll proceed to video review. Score goes in. We got to rotate. Run it again? Always. After review, the rally is overturned. The ball was in. Loss of a free challenge. No free challenge remaining. One free challenge remaining. Resume play at 6-8-2. As out. Point. So two disasters in a row. 7-8-2. At sails deep, and the Snowmen have arrived in the 85 degree heat of Newport Beach. We're tied at 8. 8-8-2. Wow, Christian's jumping out of the air, and Hayden actually got a ball. I don't think Ben hit his spot at all. No. 8-8-1. But Hayden caught it behind him. Ben gets on top of this forehand counter. A couple points ago, he had the face open. 9-8-1. Abe hung in there, because Ben was chasing it. And we are at match point. Free challenge timeout. Receiver. You get to keep the one you caught. 10-8-1. Here we go. Match point. Second serve. Try number two. 10-8-2. Stone cold to go for that on match point down from Christian Alshon. 8-10-1. Second serve. Actually thought the one before the miss was good enough to at least come forward in some capacity. Oh, what a disaster. Wow. Fought to get the ball back. Match point three. This has been a problem for Johnson Tardio. And it's gone, and the top seeds win it again. Lucky 13, indeed, together.