Quang Duong takes down the #1 seed, Ben John, in a thrilling Men’s Singles Pro Main Draw match. The final score was 11-5, 11-9, with Duong winning both games in a close contest.
In the first game, Duong came out strong, swiftly taking the lead with a series of well-executed shots. He quickly took out to a dominating 10-3 lead before Johns could score a point. Johns managed to score two more points after that, Duong took a break at 10-5 to regroup himself; Duong ended up winning the game 11-5.
Benjamin Johns tried to make a difference in the second game. Both players give their best in a close contest. The score went point-for-point until 9-9 when Duong called a timeout his second time out of the second game. Duong emerged from the break with renewed focus and took the next two points to win the game 11-9.
Match Highlights:
- Winner: Quang Duong (#10 Seed)
- Loser: Benjamin Johns (#1 Seed)
- Scores: 11-5, 11-9
- Duong’s Longest Point Streak: 5 points (Game 1)
- Duong served at 73.9% efficiency throughout the match
- Duong used all 3 of his timeouts during the match
Match Analysis:
Duong uses a western grip, which is more common in tennis but rare in pickleball. The western grip allows him to generate more topspin on the ball. The extra topspin makes it harder for opponents to control the ball, Keeping it outside of their attack zone and making it more difficult for them to counterattack. Duong’s experience with the Western grip in other sports allowed him to adapt it successfully to pickleball.
“I’ve used a western grip in other racket sports like ping pong, tennis, and padel,” Duong said while talking on Pickleball TV after winning the match. “When I switched over to pickleball, it was pretty natural for me because the paddle is like a mini racket in some ways.”
