Anna Bright and Dekel Bar achieved what no team had done in nearly a year—defeat Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns in mixed doubles at the Carvana Mesa Cup 2025. The No. 3 seeds pulled off a dramatic 12-10, 7-11, 11-9 victory on Humana Championship Court, ending the top-seeded pair’s long winning streak.
A Thrilling Comeback Seals the Win
Bright and Bar trailed 1-5 in the deciding game but fought back to take a 6-5 lead at the side switch, powered by strong serves from both players. Later, down 7-9, they staged a four-point run to close out the 90-minute match in stunning fashion.
Bright previously played a key role in Waters and Johns’ last mixed doubles loss in March, when she and Andrei Daescu defeated them in the Austin Open final. Her performance alongside Bar further cemented her ability to challenge the sport’s top-ranked duo.
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Tactical Execution Proves Key
Bright credited Bar for his ability to counter Waters’ aggressive speedups, which played a major role in their success.
“The key to beating them for me is trusting that my male partner is going to handle Anna Leigh’s attacks because I can’t avoid hitting her the ball, but I also can’t press and try and do too much,”. “Dekel did a great job because she had some amazing speedups—she’s always going to—but I think he handled them really, really well.”(Anna Bright)
While the victory was a career milestone, Bar remained focused on what lies ahead.
“Obviously it’s an amazing win today, but tomorrow is a new day,”. “We’ll start fresh knowing that we have one more match to go. We’re going to give it everything and focus as best we can to take them down.”( Dekel Bar)
News in Brief: Anna Bright and Dekel Bar
Anna Bright and Dekel Bar upset top seeds Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns in mixed doubles, winning 12-10, 7-11, 11-9. They overcame deficits in the final game to secure the victory. Bright praised Bar’s defensive play, while Bar remained focused on their next challenge in the tournament.
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