BEACH VOLLEYBALL / MANHATTAN BEACH OPEN : Whitmarsh, Swatik Prevail

Good thing they didn’t listen to each other on the phone.

Concerned about their poor play the past month on the AVP tour, Mike Whitmarsh and David Swatik nearly broke up their pro beach volleyball partnership during a phone call last Monday.

But they realized that, yes, breaking up is hard to do.

As a result, they will split $22,000 for winning the Manhattan Beach Open on Sunday.

Powered by an impressive six aces by Swatik, the duo emerged with a 15-13 victory over Jose Loiola and Emanuel Rego in the championship.

Swatik and Whitmarsh were knocked into the loser’s bracket after a 15-6 loss earlier in the day against Loiola and Rego.

But they rallied in the lower bracket and earned a spot in the tournament championship with a 12-10 victory over Adam Johnson and seven-time Manhattan champion Karch Kiraly.

The tournament, returning to Manhattan Beach for the first time since 1996, will still lose money because of a lack of big-time sponsorship funding, CEO Bill Berger said.

Berger, however, said he expects “to be back here for the next 40 years.”

In women’s play, Lisa Arce became the fourth and final qualifier for the inaugural Queen of the Beach tournament next month in Las Vegas.

Arce joins Barbra Fontana, Linda Hanley and Holly McPeak.