Johnson, Tardio and Black strike gold in Brisbane
Tardio and Black won two titles each, and Brisbane’s own Andie Dikosavljevic took women’s singles at home.
The PPA Tour's trip to the Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane ended on Sunday with two double-gold winners and a home-court champion.
The finals
- Men's singles: Hunter Johnson def. Christian Alshon, 11-8, 5-11, 11-8
- Women's singles: Andie Dikosavljevic def. Judit Castillo, 11-6, 11-6
- Men's doubles: Gabe Tardio/Hayden Patriquin def. Tama Shimabukuro/JW Johnson, 3-11, 11-6, 11-7
- Women's doubles: Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black def. Parris Todd/Danni-Elle Townsend, 11-5, 11-6
- Mixed doubles: Tyra Black/Gabe Tardio def. Parris Todd/Christian Alshon, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7
The stories
Tardio and Black, twice each. With Ben Johns absent, Tardio partnered Patriquin in men's doubles and came back from a game down in the final. He and Black then won mixed, also from a game down.
A home champion. Dikosavljevic, who is based in Brisbane, won women's singles in straight games. Her semifinal against Sahra Dennehy went to 12-10 in the third.
Johnson rolls on. The top seed won every match in straight games until Alshon forced a third in the final. Johnson led 7-0 in the third before Alshon pulled to 8-7, Pickleball.com reported. "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! I've always wanted to do that," Johnson said. "This is one of the best crowds I've ever played in front of." Alshon left with two silvers.
Australian depth. The Dink highlighted runs by Dennehy, Townsend and Harrison Brown as signs of growing strength outside the U.S. Liam Lamb also upset Dylan Frazier 11-8, 11-4 in men's singles.
This story was produced by the Pickleballer news desk under Pickleballer’s standards. See an error? Tell us.
