Semifinal Saturday got underway today in Mesa, Arizona. It has been an amazing week of matches and today was no different so let’s breakdown what happened and who was able to punch their ticket to Championship Sunday.
Women’s Singles: Mary Brascia Goes Back-to-Back
Mary Brascia performed beautifully today against the #5 seed Salome Devidze. She controlled the tempo of the match from the get go and never gave Devidze any belief that she could come back and win. Brascia is so good off both wings that it makes approaching the kitchen against her extremely difficult. She will once again go up against Anna Leigh Waters in the finals. Although the underdog on paper expect Brascia to fight for everything as she tries to win her first PPA singles gold medal.
Men’s Singles: Sock Falls to Staksrud
Jack Sock started off a bit slow today but made a ferocious comeback after being down 10-1 in game 1. He was able to tie it up 10-10 but Staksrud shut the door and secured the win in two games. It’s another encouraging step for Sock in singles and the more reps he gets the better he is going to be in the high-pressure moments. Staksrud will face Ben Johns for the first time this year in the finals.
Mixed Doubles: Ignatowich Unfortunate Injury Ends Mixed Run
Unfortunately, James Ignatowich seemed to injure his shoulder midway through his mixed doubles match vs. Thomas Wilson and Vivienne David. It was evident for the rest of the match it was really bothering him as he had to concede the left side of the court to partner Anna Bright. They lost in a tight two games 11-9 11-7 but it was another good run for them after starting the year with two silver medals. Wilson/David will face Johns/Waters in Sunday’s final.
Women’s Doubles: Waters/Parenteau Run Continues
Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau have yet to drop a game all tournament as they defeated Jorja Johnson and Mari Humberg 11-3, 11-9 to extend their winning streak to sixty-three in a row. They will face Etta Wright & Meghan Dizon run the finals, an opponent they are familiar with after just beating them at the PPA Desert Ridge final two weeks ago.
Men’s Doubles: Frazier/Johnson Dominant
No one has looked more dominant this tournament than Dylan Frazier & JW Johnson. After taking the PPA Desert Ridge Open off they are playing like they have something to prove this week. They have dropped just 21 points across their three matches and will look to add to their gold medal collection tomorrow against Andrei Daescu and Gabe Tardio. This could end up being a blockbuster final as Daescu/Tardio have upset the Johns brothers, Newman/Wilson & Devilliers/Smith to get to this point.
On The Horizon
Buckle up as PPA Championship Sunday will air on Fox starting at 12PM EST time. Make sure to tune in bright and early and see if any of the three Selkirk pros can secure a gold medal.
