Zane Ford capped what has become a monumental day for his budding pickleball career with a thrilling 11-7, 9-11, 12-10 victory over No. 2 seed Michael Loyd.

Thursday’s second men’s singles semifinal was a true back-and-forth affair, filled with impressive runs and momentum swings on the side of both players.

After taking the first game, Ford jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second and looked like he was well on his way to closing out the match.

Loyd, however, came all the way back in that game and forced a decider by finding ways to attack Ford’s backhand.

He carried that success into Game 3 to the point of a 7-1 lead, but then Ford took his turn being the ‘Comeback King’ of Humana Championship Court. The 20-year-old caught fire from both wings, eventually erasing that deficit and closing out the epic encounter at the second time of asking.

Ford was quick to shout out his men’s doubles partner this week, Anouar Braham, who served as his coach throughout the day at Pictona.

“[Anouar’s] a beast and a good coach, too. He definitely helped me out today. He was watching all of my matches and telling me to trust my training and everything that I’ve been doing,” Ford explained. “I’m happy I got it done, and I’m happy that he was here to help me out.”

The No. 21 seed is now into his first Championship Sunday on the PPA Tour, where he’ll face top-seeded Federico Staksrud. These two faced off last month in Milwaukee, with Staksrud coming away with the win by an 11-9, 8-11, 11-5 score line.

Ford is excited to have a shot at revenge.

“[Federico] is a great player. I played him in Milwaukee and lost in the third. I’m just gonna have to go out there and play my game,” he said. “Whoever’s the better player on that day is gonna take it home.”