***STATS BREAKDOWN***
PPA Desert Ridge Open, Phoenix, Arizona, February 5, 2023.
OVERALL TAKEAWAYS:
- Singles: More clean winners and fewer errors on serves, returns, and thirds is a winning combination.
- Men’s Doubles: the Johns brothers have a plan against Newman and Wright. Make Riley hit the third shot (55 for Riley, 2 for Matt); dink, especially to the middle (Newman/Wright had 9 dinking errors, Johns’ had 2); and win most of the rally-ending hand-battles (Johns/Johns 37, Newman/Wright 30).
- Women’s Doubles: 14 offensive lobs in this match! Is this a trend or a fluke? First finals jitters? Jones had 4 dinking errors in game one (out of a total of five in the match), and at the end of game three, she sprayed volleys long or wide, giving Parenteau/Waters the last three points of an 11-9 win. Back on Dec. 4 in Orlando, Jackie Kawamoto, playing with Jansen in her first PPA final, had similar jitters, with a match-high 5 dinking errors, and a match-high 8 errors on serves/returns/third shots. It is hard for players to be comfortable playing in the finals when their opportunities are so limited, because a small group of players are often filling those spots.
- Mixed Doubles: Lucy and Matt tried something different. In their loss to Anna Leigh & Ben in the DC gold medal…
