APP Tour St. Louis Open – Live Random Thoughts

Nothing has changed with the APP streaming. For a lot of viewers, at least the weekend streaming will be on YouTube as opposed to ESPN+ or CBS Sports. We’ll try to follow along as much as we can (and care to) even if it is just results for the first couple of days.

Sunday, August 13th – Championship Sunday

11:30 am EST – What a weird thing this morning as the APP live tweeted the men’s singles final simultaneously with streaming the women’s singles final. Was this due to weather concerns later in the day? Hunter wins in 3 over Medina Alvarez. Dominique Schaefer double dipped Devidze, which was unexpected. Schaefer is mainly staying at the baseline but the groundstrokes were too much for Salome. First pro gold for Dominique. Someone probably explained it on the broadcast but a social media explanation would be nice.

12:30 pm EST – Barr and Daescu win again. They lost game 1 and it seemed like we may get a match, but they rolled in the 2nd and 3rd games. They are the pinnacle of the APP right now.

3:00 pm EST – What a win for CJ Klinger and Andre Mick. They surprisingly got the win in the game to 15 after losing the 2 out of 3 in straight games. Good mental toughness from the pair. Klinger and Mick get their first APP gold medal, and that’s Klingers first Mesa this year possibly?

3:45 pm EST – Barr and Fudge are golden. No Simone and Parris this weekend, but they still had to battle through for a victory. Has to feel good to get one.

Saturday, August 12th – Doubles

1:03 pm EST – There was a bit of a weather delay this morning so a later start means the stream isn’t going to get going until 2pm EST. Nothing too much to discuss to start the day. Jack Munro with another solid win to start the day with Phillip Locklear as they beat Next Gen players Broderick/Livornese (11-9, 11-3) before losing out to Long/Auvergne handily. It is interesting to see what some of these experienced doubles players can do against the newer singles tennis guys. Mediratta/Jerry Huo smoked Irizarry/Medina Alvarez 2 and 3 and it shows that the doubles game usually takes some more.

Andre Mick/CJ Klinger won a nail biter, 14-12 in the third, over unknowns Nicolas Acevedo/Will Howells, who appear to be two tennis guys. The other result to note is Martin Emmrich/Jack Foster over Tchikatilov/Farias 4 and 5. That’s a beat down of a loss where you’d have to expect that would be closer. Martin Emmrich is showing out this weekend as the last pick in the Challenger draft?

Oh, it looks like Simone is out. She didn’t play yesterday with Yates Johnson and Radzikowska is in the draw with Parris Todd.

2:47 pm EST – So we thought it would be a chalk day in gender doubles, but that has been far from the case.  Every result so far is pretty much unexpected in the quarters. First, it is Martin Emmrich and Jack Foster winning in 3 over Long/Auvergne (11-5, 2-11 and 11-2). Those are two Challenger first round picks and Emmrich is playing with a singles guy in Jack Foster. Very impressive results the past couple of days from Emmrich and we’ll probably get to see him on a stream at some point today. The upset of the APP year goes to Klinger/Mick as they smoke Daescu/Nunnery 11-3, 11-3. Klinger/Mick almost lost in round 1 and now they’re into the semi-finals. 

Emmrich/Foster will play Cincola/Stone who got past the Johnson twins in 3 games (2-11, 11-8, 11-4). The losses keep coming for the Johnson brothers. We’re just waiting on the Cullen/DeHeart vs. Roddy/Dobran match. Roddy/Dobran had a solid 3 game win over Gridley/Teoni, who did not have a good weekend losing here and also losing in the doubles shootout to Klinger/Whittaker earlier in the week. 

Women’s stuff is still in the early stages. One result is Harris/Humberg over Whitwell/Gleason (3, 8). Turns out playing tournaments and having experience in pickleball can be helpful.

3:35 pm EST – So now it is Parris/Radzikowska who go down to Tammy Emrich/Kelsey Grambeau. After winning game 1, the favorites just couldn’t get comfortable. Parris didn’t know what to do getting iced out and not seeing any balls, and was making some really poor decisions. Ewa was not comfortable enough and when it became a match they couldn’t figure out what to do. Quality play from Emmrich and Grambeau.

Tough loss as well for Bates/Rettger. They lose to two players I hadn’t heard of, 11-8 in the third. The other semi-final is set on the men’s side too as DeHeart and Cullen got through Dobran/Roddy in 3 games.

5:30 pm EST – What a bizarre men’s day. Emmrich/Foster take down Cincola/Stone in 2 games. Foster is playing like bizarro Collin Johns running around his backhand on the left and letting Emmrich take a bunch of court. They’ll play Mick/Klinger, who won in 2 over DeHeart/Cullen. Did not see this winners final happening by any means. Nunnery/Daescu and Long/Auvergne are both fighting through the backdraw.

Harris/Humberg smoke Grambeau/Emmrich. Who knows if that’s a let down match, coming back down to earth or Todd/Radzikowska playing way too tight. Either way, good day for Harris/Humberg. Hendry/Nobler beat Rane/Oshiro in 3, and that Rane/Oshiro partner isn’t working as two not really alpha players together. Still not a good loss against Hendry/Nobler.

7:28 pm EST – What a random women’s day opened up by the Simone injury. Harris/Humberg will face Barr/Fudge after they squeak by Hendry/Nobler in the winners final. Barr/Fudge were in huge trouble against Pisnik/Truong, but Truong got very tight at the end as they blew a late third game lead to lose 11-9 in the third.

Mick/Klinger are onto Sunday winning in straight games over Emmrich/Foster. Just a shocking outcome with being able to beat Nunnery/Daescu. They are playing well and the combined hands between them make them a dangerous team.

It was a strong day for the unknown Acevedo and Howells. They almost beat Klinger/Mick and won 3 games in the backdraw, including a win over the Johnson twins, before bowing out to Brendon/Stefan. The 1st round Challenger boys tried to make a run but they fell short 16-14 to Cullen/DeHeart. Another disappointing men’s result for them.

10:35 pm EST – These double elimination brackets really show that it is sometimes too snappy to make judgments after one loss. Oshiro/Rane haven’t had the best run as a pair this year but they battled all the way back to Sunday after a rough early loss. They got past Radzikowska/Todd, who had a very disappointing day, and then they beat Humberg and Harris in the bronze. They also beat Truong and Pisnik. No joke of a run for a Sunday appearance.

Nunnery/Daescu find their way back to Sunday. Apparently Rob might be dealing with a shoulder issue but they battled their way through the backdraw, and they beat Emmrich/Foster in 3 games. Nothing easy today but they are still heavy favorites to win it all.

Friday, August 11^th – Mixed

1:15 pm EST – They played the qualifier this morning for mixed and then the mixed pro event started at 11pm CST (12 pm EST) so we’re just in the early part of the day. It is more about the draws to start the day. Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson may have the slightly more favorable draw. Something must have happened to Simone Jardim as Yates Johnson is playing with Rachel Rettger, not Simone today, but if anyone has information there let us know. Fudge/Nunnery are on the same side of the draw as Barr/Daescu while Todd/Johnson will likely have to contend with either Long/Oshiro or Rane/Auvergne to get to a winners bracket final. We didn’t note them in the fantasy draft preview but Klinger/Radzikowska could be an interesting partnership. They are waiting for their first matchup and then would play Hunter/Parris should they get through there.

2:45 pm EST – A pretty minor upset of the day is Pisnik/Emmrich getting past Rane/Auvergne in 3 games (12-10, 10-12, 11-4). Talk about two players that are on the rise, Tina Pisnik and Martin Emmrich fit that bill. That’s a good win for them and they now go on to play Long/Oshiro, which should be a good test. A first round less minor upset is Jack Munro/Kelsey Grambeau smoking Bates/Teoni 1 and 4. We haven’t seen Grambeau play but her name is in a lot of these PPA and APP draws these days. Two challenger players losing badly to two non-challenger players is not great for Bates and Teoni. We also saw Andre Mick/Allison Harris lose to Austin Tchikatilov and Salome Devidze. It sure makes you wonder if the Mick/Harris run for silver was a bit of a fluke at that time.

4:15 pm EST – Tina Pisnik and Martin Emmrich are having a day so far, and there’s some regret happening they weren’t drafted by either of us when opportunity was there. They smoked Oshiro/Long, 11-1 and 11-2, which is borderline shocking the scores would be that lopsided. Oshiro/Long have an APP gold to their names this year together and both were selected in the first round of Challenger. Parris Todd/Hunter Johnson are through after what appeared to be a very tight win over Radzikowska/Klinger, 6-11, 12-10 and 11-4. We would be curious to know if Klinger/Radzikowska had any match points in game 2. We’ll see how the day goes but a little bit concerning that a 1(a)/1(b) Premier mixed team is having to work for it against a 1(a)/1(b) Challenger team. 

Shelby Bates/Pesa Teoni are done in the backdraw, losing 15-9 to Casey Cullen and Arielle Butler. Rough day for those two. An 0-2 day for Harris/Mick, who lost 15-3 to Rane/Auvergne in the backdraw. Not an easy backdraw for them but losing a favored round 1 match means a tougher losers spot.

6:30 pm EST – Hunter and Parris cruise past Pisnik/Emmrich and will most likely be playing Barr and Daescu. The bronze medal is most likely what teams will be playing for. The Amazon Man and Devidze have had quite the run today. They beat Mick/Harris and have won 3 in the backdraw, including an impressive 15-8 win over Radzikowska/Klinger. Has Salome finally started grinding her doubles game with her time off?

It looks like something may have happened to Fudge/Nunnery. They surprisingly lost easily to DeHeart/Nobler and then withdrew in the back draw to Rane/Auvergne. Hopefully it is not an injury of any kind.

9:00 pm EST – Susannah Barr and Andrei Daescu steamrolled Parris/Hunter. Parris/Hunter will likely be in the gold medal match on Sunday, but they were inches away from losing to Klinger/Radzikowska earlier and then they are losing to a team that doesn’t have 2 Premier players. Now, Susannah is Premier quality but the Bouncers have to be concerned about their duo. 

Big day for Tina Pisnik/Martin Emmrich. They had some good wins then got past Yates Johnson/Rettger to get to the match to bronze to play Oshiro/Long. A bronze for either of these teams will be a good day as Oshiro/Long have worked their way back to through the losers bracket. After a near loss to Junior Mint Munro/Kelsey Grambeau (which is a team that also had a strong day), Oshiro/Long won two more matches to get to this stage. The result should come soon and we’ll update it along with the bronze later tonight. Long days in Missouri.

10:17 pm EST – Parris and Hunter will play for gold. Not a convincing day from the pair. They cruised by Oshiro/Long in the bronze after Oshiro and Long beat Pisnik/Emmrich (15-13) in the previous match, avenging their bad loss from earlier today. It ends up as a solid day for Oshiro and Long. We could be in for a really boring Sunday though.

Thursday, August 10^th – Singles

11:30 am EST – We’ll partially give the APP credit as they played this qualifier on a Wednesday and had the men’s singles qualifiers goes 2 games out of 3 in the main part of the qualifier draw. The doubles players still only went to games to 15, which is pretty dumb, so they’re going to have to figure out whatever scheduling issues to make sure that happens in our opinion. With the PPA eliminating back draws, it seems like it should be a priority for the APP to create a comparable qualifier situation for new players. Games to 15 or rally scoring games to 21 in the main part of the draw is not going to go over well. It looks like they are making some strides.

Nothing all that notable this morning. The young buck, Jayden Broderick, took down John Cincola in 3 games as Cincola continues to not get results in singles this year. Broderick is a talented player so this isn’t a major shock. Another guy we missed in the fantasy draft preview is Eduardo Irizarry, who has had some deep runs at APPs this year. He beat Christopher Haworth 6 and 6 and will now face Medina Alvarez.

1:02 pm EST – It is about as chalk as it gets for the men’s stuff in the semi-finals. Yates Johnson is playing Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez in one semi and Hunter Johnson playing Jack Foster in the other. Foster played a tight 3-game match against Jayden Broderick and Irizarry appeared to be in it with Medina Alvarez, but they both fall short. The women are just getting going.

To follow up on the qualifier for the APP, we have been informed that the qualifier was played 2 out of 3 games rally scoring to 11 with no freeze. Let us repeat. Rally scoring to 11 with no freeze! Huh? This is some wild stuff going on and if there’s any better way to turn away your newcomer players, it is by playing rally scoring games to 11 without a freeze. This is something else.

3:00 pm EST – Hunter Johnson is into the winners bracket final after barely getting past Jack Foster, who is showing out well for his 2^nd tournament in a row. Hunter wins 11-9 in the third over Foster, and that’s a loss that has to sting for Foster. Hunter has been playing with fire in recent APP events and it’s hard to tell whether it is a lack of focus for him or if he really isn’t that much better than some of these players. Without being able to watch, it is even harder to say. Coming off a win to Ben Johns, twin brother Yates maintains his enigmatic title by losing 4 and 9 to Medina Alvarez. Good win for Medina Alvarez who always plays Yates tough, but Yates is a guy who often seems better on paper than his consistency shows in his results. 

We’re still waiting on a Salome Devidze vs. Mari Humberg results, but the rest of the semi-final players are sorted out. Jessica Warren beat Shelby Bates in 3 games as did Amanda Hendry over Milan Rane (12-10 in the third). Dominique Schaefer is also off to the semi-finals to play Amanda Hendry as she has breezed her way through 2 matches.

8:15 pm EST – Medina Alvarez is onto Championship Sunday. He slips by Haworth, who won game 1 and lost 14-12 in game 2, and then wasn’t able to get it going in game 3 to the tune of an 11-3 loss. Medina Alvarez is someone we haven’t seen for a little while but he is a guy that competes. We’ll see if he can give Hunter a better match when he is rested for Sunday.

On the women’s side, Salome Devidze will be there on Championship Sunday. Salome dropped a game to Mari Humberg but for the most part cruised on the day. She beats Schaefer 4 and 8 in the winners bracket final, and there’s nothing to indicate she will have any trouble on Sunday in the gold medal match. Jessica Warren comes through with another APP medal as she took down Sharienne Ricardo (15-13) and Amanda Hendry (15-7) in the backdraw to find her way back to the bronze match. This was a wide open field for the women to get a podium and Warren is the player that comes through with bronze. Her doubles game doesn’t look polished from the limited we can see, but she’s clearly a threat in singles. Schaefer ultimately will play for gold with a 6 and 6 win, so it’s a good day all around for both women.