The Guaranteed Rate Las Vegas Open singles draw got underway today at the Darlington Tennis Center. Due to extreme weather conditions there were early withdrawals from Anna Leigh Waters, Tyson McGuffin and Dylan Frazier which allowed some newer faces to step into the spotlight.
Women’s Singles: All Michigan Wolverine final
With Anna Leigh Waters missing in action all eyes were on Catherine Parenteau, who made a deep run but ultimately fell short to Brooke Buckner to three games late into the evening. Parenteau did all she could but the groundstrokes of Buckner were just too strong in the decider.
On the top half of the draw it was Genie Bouchard who made the semifinals, taking out Lea Jansen before she fell to Kate Fahey in three games. Bouchard looked extremely comfortable on the singles court, something we haven’t seen for a majority of the year but she is slowly figuring it out. Fahey will look to avenge her loss to Buckner from earlier in the year in Kansas City in all the Michigan Wolverine finale.
Men’s Singles: Quang Duong dialed in
The early surprise of the day was Roscoe Bellamy taking out #2 seed Ben Johns in three games. The big serve and forehand of the former UCLA Bruin got the job done. Bellamy was then forced to retire against Quang Duong in game 2 of the quarterfinals due to an injury. Duong won his semifinal convincingly over Michael Loyd 11-2, 11-2. Duong always defeated the red hot Hunter Johnson on his run to Championship Sunday.
On the top half of the draw we were once again treated to a hard fought battle between Federico Staksrud and Connor Garnett, with the match going in favor of the self proclaimed twoey nation 11-9 in the 3rd. Garnett also took down Jack Sock in the quarterfinals 11-9, 11-1. Garnett has some unfinished business on Sunday. He has let a few big leads slip away in his past few tournaments late in draws. He’ll need a complete performance to take out the feisty competitor Duong.
On the Horizon
Mixed doubles action kicks off at 11am PT beginning on PickleballTV. A partnership we haven’t seen in quite some time is back together, James Ignatowich and Catherine Parenteau. The last time they stepped on court together on the same side they won a title. We’ll see if they can find some of that same magic tomorrow.
