
Garnett, Johnson to battle for men's singles gold
Connor Garnett booked his spot in the men’s singles final with a 12-10, 7-11, 11-3 victory over Federico Staksrud.
It was a bout filled with momentum swings and extended stoppages in play, mostly on the side of Staksrud.
After dropping an opening game that he had two chances to close out, the Argentinian took a medical timeout before Game 2 because of an issue with his vision.
That second game had another ten-minute delay when Staksrud argued with the referees after being assessed a second technical warning that resulted in a point penalty.
Despite all the stoppages and happenings off the court, Garnett held strong and found his best in Game 3 to surge into the final.
“I feel like Fed and I always have a lot of momentum swings in our matches, and so just staying in there and staying locked in is key,” Garnett mentioned. “Fed can get super hot—I mean, there’s a reason why he has the most commanding singles record this year—and so I just had to weather the storm and just keep fighting.”
Garnett will go for his third singles title of the year on Sunday when he'll face either Tyson McGuffin or Hunter Johnson.
In the second semifinal, Hunter Johnson defeated Tyson McGuffin by an 11-1, 11-7 score line.
McGuffin reeled off three impressive wins over Ben Johns, Pablo Tellez, and Connor Garnett in pool play, but Johnson stopped the veteran’s run with impressive passing shots from seemingly every spot of the court.
This result continues what has been a stellar second half of the year for Johnson, who has five medals since August, including titles in Atlanta and Milwaukee.
He credits his support system for his recent string of successes after a difficult start to the year.
“I went through some tough times losing a bunch in the beginning of the year and just had to persevere,” Johnson said. “I have a great backing and a great team, and I really couldn’t do it without them.”
He will face Connor Garnett—who he’s beaten the last three times they’ve played—for the year-end title.
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