
Bar, Tellez to face Daescu, Klinger on Championship Sunday
The stage is set for an intriguing men's doubles final on Championship Sunday at the Daytona Beach Open presented by ROAR Organic.
The #2 seeds Dekel Bar and Pablo Tellez will face the #3 seeds Andrei Daescu and CJ Klinger for gold.
In the semis, Bar and Tellez cruised to an 11-3, 11-3 victory over #4 seeds AJ Koller and Matt Wright in just 27 minutes.
"I feel like we played fast, especially the first few balls worked in our favor," said Bar, referencing an opening stanza that spanned 8 minutes and 50 seconds from start to finish. "We were ready for each other's thirds and poaching a lot. It kept working, so we kept doing it."
Before going head-to-head with Koller and Wright, though, Bar and Tellez were involved in a three-game quarterfinal battle with #6 seeds Augie Ge and Eric Oncins that could have gone either way.
The pair saved multiple match points, and eventually earned an 8-11, 11-4, 12-10 triumph to keep their medal hopes alive.
"They played a really good match. It was really close. I'm just glad we got out of it," said Bar. "We started playing with a lot more energy there in the third game and we came here a lot looser, so that helped us a lot."
The tandem is hungry to reach the top of the podium together after claiming silver at the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships in Dallas in November.
In the other semifinal, Daescu and Klinger posted an 11-2, 4-11, 11-7 victory over the #1 seeds Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud.
Daescu and Klinger trailed 5-0 in the deciding stanza, but ultimately found a way to right the ship and get the job done.
"Pickleball's a game of momentum. We knew our level was really good. We played a really good Game 1. I think we got a little too passive in Game 2. Obviously, these guys have a great winning record. They're tough to beat. They played really well, but we knew we needed a spark and we got that spark at 5-0. Luckily, we were able to get through," said Daescu. "Props to CJ. He made a big adjustment there in Game 3, especially towards the end. He got a lot more aggressive, hit a couple of great counters, and that freed me up to play my game. I'm just super happy to be going to the finals with this guy. He's a stud."
Daescu, of course, will also compete in the mixed doubles final alongside Tina Pisnik.
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