Semifinal Saturday got underway today in North Carolina and a few Cinderella runs were looking to keep the magic going and lock up their spot on Championship Sunday. Let’s breakdown all five draws and see who will be playing for a title.
Men’s Singles Championship: (1) Ben Johns vs (2) Federico Staksrud
Six PPA tournaments and six PPA finals for Federico Staksrud. Staksrud was able to come back from an 11-1, 10-8 deficit as he fought off multiple match points to seal the deal in three games. Ben Johns completed his win in similar fashion coming from behind to defeat Christian Alshon. Johns has gotten the better of Staksrud recently so we’ll see if Staksrud has some answers tomorrow.
Women’s Singles Championship: (1) Anna Leigh Waters vs (2) Catherine Parenteau
Catherine Parenteau was able to avenge her two losses earlier in the year to Salome Devidze with an 11-3, 11-7 victory today. Parenteau’s movement was on full display as she had Devidze under pressure the entire match. Anna Leigh Waters was able to survive a minor scare from Lea Jansen winning 11-9, 11-9 in two games. Waters and Parenteau will meet for the first time in 2024 after having several close battles in finals to end 2023.
Mixed Doubles Championship: (1) Johns/Waters vs (13) Bar/Pisnik
Vivienne David and Thomas Wilson didn’t have many answers for the steadiness of Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters. It was a similar story for Todd Fought and Maggie Brascia as the offense of Dekel Bar and the defense of Tina Pisnik put them in a bind for most of the match. It will be a David vs Goliath best 3 out 5 matchup on Sunday for the mixed gold medal.
Men’s Doubles Championship: (1) Johns/Johns vs (14) Ge/Martinez Vich
Augustus Ge and Jaume Martinez Vich kept their hot streak going today beating (3) Federico Staksrud and Pablo Tellez in two games. They were able to speed up and counter attack with a high level of success which forced Staksrud and Tellez into uncharacteristic mistakes. On the other side of the draw, it was one way traffic for the Johns brothers as they beat Tyson McGuffin and Dekel Bar 11-1, 11-5.
Women’s Doubles Championship: (1) Waters/Parenteau vs (6) David/Schneemann
Anna Leigh and Catherine Parenteau had it all working against Meghan Dizon and Etta Wright today winning 11-3, 11-7. They put pressure on early with deep serves and big drives and never looked back. On the bottom half of the draw Vivienne David and Lacy Schneemann came back from a game deficit to defeat Parris Todd and Hurricane Tyra Black.
On the Horizon
Championship Sunday kicks off at 11AM EST starting with men’s doubles and ending with women’s singles. Don’t miss any of the action on PickleballTV.
