Primetime Pickleball
TheDinkPickleball.com has full Pickleball Coverage of the APP Atlanta Metro Open
It was a thrilling day in mixed doubles in Atlanta, GA complete with…say it with me now…rain delays. It’s getting to be ridiculous with the bad weather affecting the pickleball tours. At least this venue has four covered courts to keep the action moving.
ESPN+ broadcasted the evening games, including the winner’s bracket final and medal rounds. This is a first for the APP tour and was successful today despite the delays.
Gucci
Everything was Gucci today for Zane Navratil and Andrea Koop. They took down the top seeds in the bracket one by one. It started with a win over Corrine Carr & Adam Stone. Then they had a highlight battle with Lea Jansen & Jay Devilliers, that they won 11-6, 11-2. So who do you get next after beating two higher seeds? Ben Johns and Lauren Stratman.
In the winner’s bracket final Gucci Zane and Andre-a 3k, were dropping hits and smashing shots. On paper, this looks like an upset but did not feel that way on the court. Navratil has been on fire as of late and Koop is at her best when play gets a little chaotic. They took on the goat and Lolo and won in two straight games.
The struggles for Johns & Stratman continued in the bronze medal match against Jansen & Devilliers. Johns was visibly frustrated with the number of shots not going his way and even tried playing without the trusty Franklin cap to try to change his luck.
Credit to Jansen and Devilliers who stuck it out after a game one loss. This athletic pair can clear the kitchen better than any other mixed duo making them a constant threat for Ernes. They regrouped after game one and made the court look very small in the following two games winning them 11-6, 11-5.
Double Dip Denial
We gave the warning to look out for these matches yesterday. We just didn’t think we would see it with the gold medal on the line. As always when Devilliers and Navratil are across the net from each other, it is much-watch pickleball.
Game one went to Koop & Navratil and Koop was on fire hitting behind a poaching Devilliers. Game two went to extra pickle and was closed out by Jansen & Devilliers. Game three and the gold medal were in the grasp of Koop & Navratil. The title was riding a high flying ball floating over a wide-eyed Gucci Zane. Somehow Navratil unleashed his overhead onto thin air and the ball bounced sheepishly behind him. He managed to spin around and get the ball back but this was almost the beginning of the end. Jansen & Devilliers won the point and the third game, forcing a game to fifteen.
This big ‘mo’ swing continued in game four where Koop & Navratil couldn’t buy a point. It was looking like last call when Jansen & Devilliers went up 10-2 in the final game. Navratil & Koop started to chip away at the lead and a couple chip, chip, Chippers later we had a tie game at 14-14. An incredible comeback was capped off with another Navratil overheard that made it over the net this time, clipped Jansen’s paddle, and shut down day mixed doubles day in Atlanta.
