Unfortunately, weather didn’t allow for the PPA Austin Open to be completed today so we’ll do our best to update you on the results and what matches still remain on what is now Championship Monday.
Men’s Doubles Championship: Daescu & Wright Defeat Navratil/Alshon
It was an unlikely matchup in the men’s doubles final as (4) Andrei Daescu/Matt Wright & (9) Zane Navratil/Christian Alshon both pulled upsets in the semifinals. After getting pickled 11-0 in game 1 Daescu/Wright regrouped to take down JW Johnson & Dylan Frazier 11-4, 11-5 in games 2 & 3. On grandstand Navratil/Alshon also came from behind to defeat Federico Staksrud & Pablo Tellez 11-13, 12-10, 11-9. In the final Andrei Daescu made his presence felt in the middle and never allowed Alshon or Navratil to get in any sort of rhythm attacking off the bounce as he and Matt Wright won in three straight games.
Mixed Doubles Championship: (1) Johns/Waters vs (4) Daescu/Bright
The former Orlando Squeeze MLP teammates will have an opportunity tomorrow to accomplish something no other team has done in over a year, defeat Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. Daescu has been a master at picking the right opportunities to attack this week and he’ll have to be close to perfect on Monday if he and Anna Bright want a chance in the best 3 out of 5 showdown.
Women’s Doubles Championship: (1) Waters/Parenteau vs (3) Bright/Rohrabacher
There is a clear top three in the women’s doubles game right now and two of those teams went head to head in the semifinals. (3) Anna Bright & Rachel Rohrabacher escaped a nail-biter over (2) Etta Wright/Meghan Dizon as they were the more solid team on the ground. Both teams are known for their ability lot attack through the air but it was Bright/Rohrabacher who kept their error counts lower in the soft game which ultimately made the difference. On the other side Waters/Parenteau raised their level after a tough three game quarterfinal by defeating (4) Jackie Kawamoto/Lucy Kovalova 11-2, 11-1 in the semifinals.
Men’s Singles Championship: (1) Ben Johns vs (2) Federico Staksrud
This match will go off second tomorrow morning and should be a good one between two guys that are very familiar with each other. Johns has gotten the better of Staksrud in most of their men’s singles final head to heads but Staksrud has elevated his game over the past month and may be inching to closer to the #1 spot. We'll see if he can add some more heat to that debate with a win.
Women’s Singles Championship: (16) Kaitlyn Christian vs (4) Judit Castillo
This will be the final match of the day tomorrow between two ladies looking for their first PPA gold medal. It will be a contrast of styles as Christian likes to use her length to move forward and Castillo likes to use her quickness to pass from the back of the court.
On the Horizon
It’s been a wild weekend with the weather but it looks like we will get the final matches of the tournament completed by tomorrow afternoon. Tune into PickleballTV at 10 CT to catch the action as the day will begin with mixed doubles and conclude with women’s singles.
