Utah is home for the last tournament of April and fans were treated to a very exciting slate of singles. After a few weeks off Jack Sock was back in the field today and he got off to a blazing hot start. Let’s breakdown how the rest of his day went along with some of the other matches around the grounds.
Men’s Singles Championship: (1) Federico Staksrud vs (11) Jack Sock
Federico Staksrud has now made 9 Championship Sundays in a row to start the year after beating Tyson McGuffin 11-8, 12-10 in one of the best matches of the day on championship court. McGuffin had the Ferrari forehand working early but the precise shot making of Staksrud delivered in the key moments in both games to seal the victory.
On the other side of the draw, it was Jack Sock who set the tone early in the day by defeating Michael Loyd in round 1 11-0, 11-0. He followed that up with multiple big wins and ended his day with an impressive two game victory over the uber talented Christian Alshon. Sock and Staksrud have gone to battle a few times this year but this time it will be for much higher stakes as a gold medal will be on the line.
Women’s Singles Championship: (1) Mary Brascia vs (2) Lea Jansen
The top seeds in the women’s draw had no trouble today as they both breezed through their matches. It will setup what should be a very competitive final on Sunday. Mary Brascia took down #6 seed Kaitlyn Christian 11-4, 11-8 in her semifinal while Lea Jansen defeated Jorja Johnson 11-4, 11-0. Styles make fights and Brascia’s back of the court prowess will be put to the test against length of Jansen up at the kitchen line. Whoever can force their opponent outside of their comfort zone should walk away with the win.
On the Horizon
Mixed doubles action kicks off at 11AM MT. Catch all the action on PickleballTV and the PPA’s YouTube Channel.
