PHOENIX, AZ - “It’s not about how you start. It’s about you finish.”

That’s what Tyson McGuffin told PickleballTV’s Dave Fleming in his post-match interview after he and Dekel Bar overcame a 1-7 deficit in the deciding game of their match against James Ignatowich and Matt Wright.

Funnily enough, that mantra from the men’s doubles quarterfinal applied perfectly to the very next match on Humana Championship Court.

That match featured Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau taking on sisters Jade and Jackie Kawamoto.

It looked like the undefeated No. 1 seeds would finish it quickly when they won Game 2 11-1 after losing the first, but the Kawamoto sisters had other plans.

Mixing their defensive prowess with well-timed attacks allowed the No. 7 seeds to jump out to an 8-1 lead in the deciding game and get just three points away from handing their opponents their first loss after 57 wins.

But McGuffin’s words rang true once again.

Waters and Parenteau worked their way all the way back facing enormous pressure, eventually taking Game 3 11-9 to seal the match.

Staying committed to their aggressive style of play and finishing the match on the ‘good end’ of the court was the key for the pair.

“I think we always believed in our games, and we knew we were finishing on the good side, and the side can make a big difference,” Waters shared.

She and Parenteau will face either Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher or Allyce Jones and Lauren Stratman in the semifinals.

Up next for McGuffin and Bar on the men’s side is the pairing of Zane Navratil and Erik Lange, who themselves upset Riley Newman and Thomas Wilson in the quarterfinals.