Ben Johns came into this week’s PPA Carvana Arizona Grand Slam perfect in 2023.
Two tournaments, six titles, two triple crowns.
But he won’t finish the week as the only player to make three-consecutive men’s finals appearances this year.
Instead, the only person who has done that is Federico Staksrud. Twice this season, Staksrud lost to Johns on a Championship Sunday singles final, and as we know, twice, Johns came out with gold.
But that won’t be the case this time around. On a cold and windy day in Mesa, Ariz, Staksrud did what Johns usually does to his opponents, starting slow, rallying to comeback, and finishing strong, beating Johns, 12-10, 4-11, 12-10 in the semifinals.
“It’s just a great feeling,” Staksrud said. “I knew I had a chance today. I was going to shoot my shot.”
Well, Staksrud’s aim was just right. After falling behind 6-0 in Game 1, he rallied to win 10 points in a row before holding on for a 12-10 victory. And after a Game 2, 11-4 win by Johns, Staksrud got behind again, this time 8-3. then 9-6. He even faced a match point with Johns up 10-9, but Johns served out of bounds, Staksrud evened the game, Johns served out of bounds again, and after a pair of match points, Staksrud earned the win, 12-10.
“Confidence is key and I have some confidence right now,” he said. “It’s working so far, and I have to keep it up.”
Staksrud, the No. 4 seed, will be trying for his first title of the season and will take on second-seeded Jay Devilliers on Sunday. Devilliers beat sixth-seeded James Ignatowich, 11-5, 2-11, 11-4 in his own semifinal.
Devilliers got up 7-1 in Game 3 against Ignatowich.
“I was just thinking, start strong and just finish,” Devilliers said. “I’m just happy to close it. It was a long day. A good end and I’m very pleased.”
Undoubtedly, Johns is the best player in pickleball in 2023 and has been for some time, but players are getting better and the tournaments are filling up with random names, coming from tennis and other racket sports. Johns dropped his first match of the day to qualifier Christopher Haworth.
“The fields are deeper and stronger,” Johns said. “But I enjoy the challenges of both old faces and the new ones.”
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, top-seeded Anna Leigh Waters, who has gone 53-2 in games played this season in all competitions, was immediately pressed by 16th-seeded Yu-chieh Heiseh in her first match Thursday, earning an 11-9, 11-7 win. Waters went on to beat Salome Devidze in the semifinals, 11-9, 11-6 and will take on Lea Jansen in the final on Sunday.
“I came out cold and then came out and ripped it,” Waters said. “It wasn’t my best day but I grinded through.
Waters moved to 3-0 all-time against Devidze and has won all six of the games she’s played her, including a 11-4, 11-4 victory in Orlando in a gold medal match last year.
Jansen, the No. 3 seed, outlasted seventh-seeded Mary Brascia, 11-2, 7-11, 11-7 in the other women’s semifinal. Brascia upset second-seeded Catherine Parenteau in the quarterfinals, 3-11, 11-8, 11-5, to earn the spot against Jansen.
“I just kept on pressuring her,” Jansen said of her semifinal win. “She had a great win against Catherine and I knew it was going to be a battle. She’s one of those players where you have to keep going and grinding it out.”
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