For a second straight year, Owensboro native Atlaf Merchant and his teammate Steve Deakin have won the US Men’s Senor Doubles at the Pickleball World Championship, cruising to a 4-0 record in the tournament.
“It was awesome. There was a lot of pressure this year because we also won it last year,” Merchant said. “I have had an undefeated season so far, so as the year goes on, the pressure keeps mounting. The team we played in early February and our toughest competitors over the last two years is who we faced in the finals. It was awesome and just an absolute relief.”
They won their opening match 11-1, 11-1, before cruising to a 11-2, 11-3 win in the third round. In the semi-finals, the duo won 11-0, 11-0 and followed it up with a close 11-7, 11-2 win over Dave Weinbach and Kristopher Heddings in the finals.
In the first set of the finals, Merchant and Deakin fell behind 5-3, but battled back to take a 7-5 lead. Heddings and Weinbach tied the set at 7-7, but Merchant and Deakin were able to close it 11-7. From there, the duo was in complete control of the second set, defending their world title.
“This title was really for Owensboro,” Merchant said. “This was the first time I trained the entire year in Owensboro and had an undefeated season. This is for Owensboro and all of the people locally that helped me train.”
While Merchant plans to recover at home with his family and play in fewer events next year, the duo also has its eyes on once again defending their title and competing for a three-peat.
