PPA Las Vegas Cup semifinals action concluded late Saturday evening with some very high-quality doubles matches. The players don’t seem to be too affected by the four week stretch of tournaments as the level has continued to be very high. Let’s see who was able to break through to play for a title on Sunday.
Men’s Singles: Staksrud beats Martinez Vich, Frazier defeats Roddy
It was a pretty straightforward day in the men’s singles draw. Jaume Martinez Vich made a few pushes but Federico Staksrud was able to hold him off to win in straight games. Staksrud welcomed the cat and mouse style of Martinez Vich and outexecuted him in the majority of those exchanges. Dylan Frazier continued his phenomenal singles run defeating Eric Roddy 11-7, 11-7. It sets up a rematch of the first final of the year back at the Hyundai Masters where Frazier beat Staksrud in three games. We’ll see what type of adjustments Staksrud makes on Sunday.
Women’s Singles: Waters to take on Fahey
Anna Leigh Waters defeated Salome Devidze 11-5, 11-7. Waters hasn’t looked invincible thus far but has gotten the job done. She’ll face an unfamiliar opponent in Kate Fahey on Sunday who is red hot. Fahey is into her 3rd singles final this month as she took down Lacy Schneemann 11-6, 11-9. Fahey will play like she has nothing to lose which should make for an entertaining match.
Mixed Doubles: Parenteau & Newman finish strong
Riley Newman and Catherine Parenteau’s rekindled partnership has been a complete success. After a couple of slow starts they have found their form as they defeated Anna Bright and Christian Alshon in three tight games. Alshon was all over the court but Newman and Parenteau are two of if not the best defenders on tour and that defense carried them to the win. On the other side Johns & Waters wait for them as they defeated the Johnson siblings 11-4, 11-4.
Women’s Doubles: Waters & Parenteau close strong vs Johnson & Rohrabacher
Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau got off to a quick start, winning game 1 11-5 against Rachel Rohrabacher and Jorja Johnson but found themselves in an early hole in game 2, down 4-1. They called a timeout to regroup and five minutes later it was 10-4 and match point. That’s how fast this team can pull ahead when everything is clicking. What changed? Waters in her interview mentioned the one-handed flick of Parenteau being the difference maker attacking Johnson straight ahead. They’ll face Parris Todd and Hurricane Tyra Black in the finals who defeated Anna Bright and Tina Pisnik in three games.
Men’s Doubles: Tardio into another final, Bar/Navratil pull the upset
Gabe Tardio is into another men’s doubles final as he and partner Andrei Daescu took out Connor Garnett and Tyler Loong in three games. Tardio and Loong were playing extremely well so game three became a dinking war between Daescu and Garnett with the Romanian coming out on top. In the nightcap, Dekel Bar and Zane Navratil looked overwhelmed in game 1 by the speed and athleticism of Christian Alshon and Riley Newman but they quickly adapted. They served bigger, played first strike pickleball and closed it out late to stamp their ticket to Championship Sunday.
On the Horizon
Don’t miss any of the Championship Sunday action beginning at 12PM PT on PickleballTV. Catherine Parenteau will be playing for two golds while Dylan Frazier will be looking for his 2nd men’s singles title of the year.
