The PPA Atlanta Open delivered high drama on semifinal Saturday despite weather causing some slight delays in the action. Let’s breakdown all five draws and see who will be playing for a gold medal tomorrow.
Men’s Singles Championship: (1) Federico Staksrud vs (2) Ben Johns
Make it 10/10 this year for Federico Staksrud as he'll once again be competing for a men singles gold medal on Sunday. He dominated Christian Alshon from start to finish, losing just four points the entire match. Staksrud has been able to defeat everyone in his path this year but Ben Johns. We’ll see if he can finally get over that hump tomorrow.
Women’s Singles Championship: (1) Anna Leigh Waters vs (14) Parris Todd
Anna Leigh Waters cruised in her semifinal match over Lea Jansen dropping just two total points. She’ll face Parris Todd in the finals who continued her strong run in Atlanta with a three game win over Salome Devidze. Todd has a tall task ahead of her tomorrow as Waters has yet to lose a singles match since last August.
Mixed Doubles Championship: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns vs (3) James Ignatowich/Anna Bright
Make it back to back mixed doubles finals for James Ignatowich and Anna Bright who had no problems with Federico Staksrud and Rachel Rohrabacher until late in game 2. On the top half of the draw Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters didn’t break much of a sweat against the Johnson siblings. We’ll see if Ignatowich and Bright can get off to a good start and put some scoreboard pressure on the top seeds early.
Women’s Doubles Championship: (1) Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau vs (9) Jade Kawamoto/Andrea Koop
Jade Kawamoto and Andrea Koop are the giant slayers of the Atlanta Open as they once again pulled off another upset, defeating Callie Smith and Lea Jansen 12-10 in game 3. We’ll see if they can pull off another one tomorrow against a team that has only lost once since their partnership began in 2023.
Men’s Doubles Championship: (2) Dylan Frazier/JW Johnson vs (3) Federico Staksrud/Matt Wright
Dylan Frazier and JW Johnson played as clean of a men’s semifinal as they could have against Tyson McGuffin and Dekel Bar, winning 11-3, 11-2 in two quick games. The biggest surprise of the day was at the top half of the draw as Federico Staksrud and Matt Wright defeated the Johns brothers 11-5, 11-3 in a contest that wasn’t all that close. Whichever right side player (Frazier or Wright) can create more offense should be able to carry their team to victory tomorrow.
