It was an interesting Saturday at the PPA Atlanta Slam. With so many tournaments the past couple months rivalries have been born and have risen to the surface which has led to compelling drama between the lines. Let’s breakdown which players and teams were able to push through to Championship Sunday.
Men’s Singles: Garnett gets his revenge
Federico Staksrud was the clear favorite in this heavyweight semifinal but don’t tell Connor Garnett that. He took it to Staksrud early and never allowed the top seed to string together a ton of points on serve, which is when Staksrud is at his best. In the other semifinal it was three lopsided games between Hunter Johnson and JW Johnson with Hunter pulling out the mini upset. The #20 seed seems to have momentum but Garnett has more experience in PPA finals. It should make for an interesting matchup tomorrow.
Women’s Singles: Waters to meet Todd in Atlanta rematch
Brooke Buckner put up a great fight early but Waters found her rhythm after winning a hard-fought game one. Buckner did her best to push forward and put pressure on but Waters was simply too good from the back of the court. In the other semifinal Parris Todd continued her strong run, defeating Lea Jansen 13-11, 11-2. Todd will look to do the unthinkable, beat Anna Leigh Waters on Sunday. She pushed in her to three games last May. She’ll need to get a lead early and put scoreboard pressure on the favorite if she wants a shot at the title.
Mixed Doubles: Parenteau & Alshon put together another dominant performance
It was once again one way traffic for Christian Alshon and Catherine Parenteau as they defeated Tyson McGufin and Lacy Schneemann 11-2, 11-4. Alshon’s athleticism and Parenteau’s shot making from the right continues to give their opponents problems. Is this the time they can beat Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters who both have dealt with injuries this week? Tune in tomorrow to find out as it should be interesting to see in a best of five.
Women’s Doubles: Parenteau takes the lead
Down 4-0 in game one of their semifinal, Anna Leigh Waters had to take a medical timeout. She alluded to feeling under the weather and her sugar levels being low in her post match interview. She also praised Catherine Parenteau for stepping up and taking on the alpha role, calling Catherine the best partner she could possibly have. Parenteau was lights out as the two took down the veterans Kovalova & Smith in two games. They’ll face Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher who comfortably defeated Lacy Schneemann and Jackie Kawamoto 11-6, 11-6.
Men’s Doubles: Frazier/Johnson fall, Johns with words for Alshon
The first men’s semifinal was one of the best matches of the day. Collin Johns has stepped up in a major way this week with his brother Ben not being at 100%. The fire seems to be back for the former #1 team in the world as Collin had some choice words for the younger Alshon after closing them out in game two. They’ll face the #7 seeds Tyson McGuffin and Jaume Martinez Vich, a rematch of the LA open final in April that went to five games. Martinez Vich was the star of the show today as he attacked Frazier and Johnson from all over with his two hander off the bounce. He’ll need to do more of the same if they want to win gold tomorrow.
On the Horizon
Championship Sunday kicks off at 11AM EST on PickleballTV and switching to CBS Sports at 12pm EST for the men’s doubles final.
