Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau are once again out this week as the Veolia LA Open got underway today. This is not a progression draw tournament so singles took center stage today and there were plenty of surprises in both the men’s and women’s draws. Let’s take a look at who stamped their ticket to Championship Sunday.
Men’s Singles Championship: (2) Federico Staksrud vs (3) Connor Garnett
The biggest surprise of the day came in the round of 16 as young Hayden Patriquin was able to take down the #1 seed Ben Johns 11-6, 11-6. Patriquin was unable to back up the upset though as he fell to Aanik Lohani in three games in the quarterfinals. Lohani's semifinal opponent was the high flying Connor Garnett and despite getting off to a hot start he was unable to sustain it as Garnett executed passing shot after passing shot from the back of the court.
The bottom half of the draw was much more straightforward as Federico Staksrud booked his ticket to his 8th straight singles final of the year. Staksrud didn’t drop more than eight points in any of his four matches today taking out Kento Tamaki, Kyle Lewis, Quang Duong and Roscoe Bellamy. He’ll face Garnett in the final who has given him some fits this year but has yet to dethrone him.
Women’s Singles Championship: (3) Lauren Stratman vs (5) Brooke Buckner
Lauren Stratman has been a steady singles player for quite some time now but today she took her game to a new level, defeating the dangerous Kaitlyn Christian 11-2, 11-7 in the women's singles semifinals . Stratman had the power game cranking from the back court and was able to pass Christian with a high-level success as the #8 seed struggled to find answers.
Stratman’s opponent will be Brooke Buckner, who plays a very similar style. Buckner likes to stay back and let her groundstrokes do the talking and they did in a big way today. She defeated Lacy Schneemann 11-3, 11-7 in the semifinals, playing a complete match from start to finish. The matchup with Stratman will come down to who handles the big stage the best as both players will be looking to add a gold medal to their resumes.
On the Horizon
Mixed doubles kick off at 11AM PST and we have some interesting new partnerships to look forward to. Pablo Tellez will team up with Lea Jansen as the lefty looks to back up his mixed doubles semifinal run in Houston. Also, Lauren Stratman is playing with Hayden Patriquin and both players should be coming in with some confidence after strong performances in singles. Catch all the action on the PPA Tour’s YouTube Channel and PickleballTV as it should be an exciting day of pickleball.
