PPA commentator Adam Stone said at the end of the men’s doubles match on center court “one of the best endings to a PPA Tour match I’ve ever seen in my life”. That quote was a major theme today across the grounds of Lifetime as many quarterfinal matches were decided by just a few points. Let’s go through each of the five draws starting with men’s singles.
Men’s Singles: Johns & Staksrud on collision course
Both Quang Duong and Collin Shick put their best foot forward today against Ben Johns and Federico Staksrud but fell just short. Shick was able to take game 2 against Staksrud but the #1 seed found his best stuff in the middle of game 3 to pull away. It leaves us one match away from another Johns & Staksrud final but Tyson McGuffin and Christopher Haworth are two strong semifinalists standing in their way.
Women’s Singles: Parenteau strong from start to finish
Catherine Parenteau’s speed and anticipation was on full display in her quarterfinal singles match against Rachel Rohrabacher as she won convincingly 11-4, 11-6. She’ll take on Brooke Buckner, who came from behind to beat Lea Jansen in three games. On the other side of the draw, Anna Leigh Waters dropped just three points against Kaitlyn Christian and Judit Castillo took down Mary Brascia in three games.
Mixed Doubles: Alshon & Parenteau advance
Catherine Parenteau’s steadiness paired with Christian Alshon’s ability to apply pressure off the bounce was enough for them to get by the #4 seeds Dekel Bar and Tina Pisnik. They’ll face the red-hot Hayden Patriquin and Vivian Glozman, who have taken down Anna Bright/James Ignatowich and Riley Newman/Lea Jansen. On the top half of the draw, Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters will face the Johnson siblings in the other semifinal.
Women’s Doubles: Parenteau makes it 3/3
Catherine Parenteau and Anna Leigh Waters continue to roll as they defeated Vivian Glozman and Lacy Schneemann 11-3, 11-5. They’ll face veterans Allyce Jones and Irina Tereschenko in the semifinals. The bottom half of the draw saw a couple of upsets as Rachel Rohrabacher/Anna Bright and Meghan Dizon/Etta Wright both went down. It opens the door for either Parris Todd/Hurricane Tyra Black or Tina Pisnik/Jessie Irvine to make a championship Sunday.
Men’s Doubles: Drama all over
Hayden Patriquin and Pablo Tellez played one of the better men’s doubles matches you will ever see as they took down the Johns brothers after squandering a few match points in game 3. They’ll face unlikely semifinalists Julian Arnold and Jack Munro who pulled off another upset today, defeating Matt Wright and Federico Staksrud in two games. On the bottom half of the draw, JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier continue to cruise and we’ll face a familiar opponent in Tyson McGuffin and Dekel Bar tomorrow.
On the Horizon
Semifinal Saturday gets underway at 11am PST on PickleballTV. All matches will be streamed on center court so make sure to tune in early to see who will stamp their ticket to Championship Sunday.
